Wedding rings?

[NoviceRN10]

According to our nursing school guidelines, we are only allowed to wear plain wedding bands at the hospital. I have a wedding ring with a high set marquis shaped diamond that definately has the potential to poke or scratch a patient. I've been looking at plain wedding bands and I don't like the way they look on my hand (I have kind of mannish hands!). After wearing diamonds the simple band just doesn't look right to me. I'm wondering what other students or nurses are wearing? I have decided just to shop for a more simple style than I already have, but I think I want stones in the band. I noticed when I was doing an orientation at the hospital this week that students a year ahead of me were wearing their regular wedding sets. I guess our school doesn't police our jewelry after all.

Is this one "Too much?" Are stone settings really a concern for harboring germs? I didn't notice a lot of hand washing when I visited the hospital this week, but I sure washed my hands when I was supposed to.

[jackson145]

My husband and I both decided not to wear our rings at work. Of course, it was an easy decision, because neither one of us really favors jewelry! I just always thought it was such a pain to put gloves on over my ring and the constant hand-washing and trying to dry under my ring got old real fast.

[RNKel, ASN, RN]

We were told that the latex eventually takes its toll on the diamonds and metal and weakens the prongs. Plus, imagine banging the diamond against bed rails, etc all day. (not to mention the whole scratching the patient thing you mentioned - I remember a few times I scratched my babies when I was changing their diapers!)

[babiesRmylife]

I work in the NICU & we are not allowed to wear any form of jewelry on our hands or wrists. This includes wedding rings & watches of any type because of potential for germs.

[trepinCT]

My schools policy is >Plain wedding bands..period..I dont question it..i just dont wear my rings( they are a set)..besides, think of the germs!!! And I have to honestly say that most nurses I know no longer go shopping in their scrubs after work..we kinda see that as gross too. I wipe down my shoes before I leave my unit and change into different shoes in my car..20 years in health care and 1 semester of microbiology cured me of worrying about wearing my jewelery to work and my scrubs out of work..hubby is a firefighter and he was doing a rope rescue training and his ring got caught on the rope( even with his gloves on)..and he was stuck..that did it for him..no more wedding band to work...we are both proud to be married, but pride and vanity lost to logic....

[WDWpixieRN, RN]

I also don't wear any rings to clinicals and most probably won't once I start working. So far, my husband hasn't really said anything and I'm honestly not second-husband shopping, so it's just easier to not deal with it at all. I have a hard enough time feeling my hands are clean until I get home to get a good honest scrubbing without worrying about cleaning and storing jewelry too. All of my clinicals items go into a hospital bag so I don't have to hunt it down on those days and it's also apart from my other personal items.

But then I also drop my tennies in the garage before entering the house!

I also see many nurses with more extravagant rings at the hospital, but I did notice one clinical instructor we had who had a gorgeous set at school changing to a very plain gold band for clinicals. I think a plain band or nothing are the optimal choices -- at least IMO, and we all know what opinions are like....lol....

[future L&Dnurse]

I also have a high-set marquis center stone and I would NOT wear it to the hospital. I've snagged it too many times on my family and on random objects that I would worry about scratching a patient or damaging the setting and losing my center stone. I wear a band with channel-set diamonds to the hospital and I wash it as soon as I get home because they really are a nice harboring ground for germs, which is why some ICU settings (such as NICU) don't allow jewelry at all. My school's policy is that we can't have rings with large stones, but if the policy was plain bands only that's what I would wear.

If your nursing school's policy is to wear only a plain band, that's what I would buy. I doubt that they'd see the ring you posted (pretty as it is!) as a plain band. I'd probably just go without if you don't like the bands, but if you want to wear something you can buy a very cheap little band at Walmart or Target just for clinical, and once you're working you can see what the rules are in the unit where you work. If you really don't want to wear the band outside of the unit, put your other rings on a nice sturdy chain around your neck, under your scrub top, and put them right back on as you leave the unit. But I wouldn't buy a ring that isn't going to fit the rules at your school, because chances are at least one instructor will notice and require that you take it off anyway.

[APBT mom, LPN, RN]

I wear my wedding set to clinicals but it's allowed in the school policy (it's the only jewelry we're allowed to wear besides a watch) and I've never had anyone from the facilities or my school say anything about it. The only time I didn't wear it was when we were in L&D just because the facility required a 3 min scrub and we had to take our jewelry off to do it and I honestly could not see the point of doing this and then putting my unscrubbed ring back on my finger (other nures and students did) so I just unsnapped my id badge loop and put it there. No one said anything about it and as soon as we went to post office it went back on my finger until the next time.

Like the previous poster said if the policy says plain get plain because you don't want a write up for wear something that could be considered fancy.

BTW I love that ring that you posted where is it from?

[NoviceRN10]

BTW I love that ring that you posted where is it from?

It's from JCPenneys :).

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

I guess you didn't read my original note. I don't want to wear my engagement/wedding set to the hospital. I have a high set stone that WOULD potentially scratch someone or poke them. I don't think the photo of the ring I posted looks like it would hurt anyone. Does it look dangerous to you? The ring I posted is less than $100 ($69). I don't plan on buying anything extravagant to wear to the hospital :).

Deleted because I found my answer! :)

[APBT mom, LPN, RN]

It's from JCPenneys :).

OH OH there's a Pennys about ten mins away from me. I'll have to go look.

[LaceyRN]

We have the same rules at my school...only a plain wedding band is allowed in clinical, though they don't seem to strictly enforce it. I've seen students wear bands with small diamonds to clinical but I leave my real wedding set at home.

I purchased a 5mm gorgeous plain yellow-gold band from ebay... for under $10 including shipping. It's electroplated 14kt gold over some other metal and it still shines like the real thing! I've had it for 1.5 years and worn it everyday to clinical. You cannot tell it's not real and it has really lasted over lots of banging, scratches and constant hand washing/gelling.

[ZooMommyRN, ADN, RN]

I prefer to just not wear my set in clinicals, it meet the criteria set forth by both schol & hospital but I prefer not to simply because double gloving for the "just in case" is a pain, my fingers tend to swell and shrink during the day from the constant gloving and washing and I don't want to risk loosing it down a drain, and after watching a patient's skin peel off with just a band aid, I don't even want to know what my ring would have done to that poor person in the event I did scratch them. I might consider a plain solid band later, but it's just not in the financial plan right now