What are the Best Shoes for Nurses?

In between cases I wandered into the doctor’s lounge adjacent to the O.R. I got something to eat and sat down.  From over my shoulder I heard, “do you mind if I ask you a question?”  It was Amy, the scrub nurse I had been working with all morning.  “You see I have this heel pain…”

I listened to her story, about how her heels first hurt when she gets out of bed. About how they don’t usually bother her while she is standing during surgery, but how she gets this sharp pain after she sits down for a break and then gets up and starts walking again. She seemed somewhat frustrated because it had been going on for about two months. 

I looked at her yellow Crocks, that likely used to be bright, long before being splattered with saline, blood and iodine. I paused and said, “So let me guess. You got your Crocs about six months ago.”  And quick came the reply, “how did you know!” 

Well I am not a psychic, palm reader, sole reader, nor any kind of magician, other than a podiatrist. The fact is, its just math. It seems that Crocs will only withstand about 3-4 months of being compressed between a nurse (working hard on his/her feet all day) and the hospital floor (hard as concrete, quite literally). Four months of use plus two months of abuse, past the life of the shoe, equals plantar fasciitis. This was also about the third or fourth time I had a similar exchange with a nurse complaining of heel pain in the hospital. 

The fact is nurses work hard. Up, down, charting, giving meds, dressing wounds, hanging IV’s, putting Mr. Jones’s nasal cannula back in nose instead of his eyebrow, busy, busy all the time. The shoes that nurses wear must be prepared for a world class beating. And not all shoes are created equal. 

The Croslite material (the only material in Crocs) is quite similar to the cushioning midsole of a running shoe.  As a marathon runner and Ironman triathlete I can say that the stuff does not last forever. I am always advising patients (who are also runners) how to tell if the midsole is worn out.  And when it is...time to donate them to a less fortunate recipient at the Chattanooga Community Kitchen. 

Does that mean Crocs are bad? Nope. It just means they are soft and don’t last real long. I will however, say that if you are on the wards, walking fast all day, they are worse than if you are mostly standing (like in the O.R.). If you have any foot or ankle instability, such as flatfeet, bunions or tendinitis, you are at risk of aggravating those problems. If you have high arches you are safe.

One other potential concern is the little air vents in the toe box.  There have been many incidences with sharps, so watch the toes around needles, scalpels and other falling pointed things.  My understanding is that some facilities have actually instituted policies against Crocs, due to safety concerns.

So, if they take away my beloved Crocs, what will I wear? I would suggest something good for your feet. If you have flat feet, wear athletic shoes with stability or motion control features.  If you have high arches, wear cushioning running shoes or something with a rocker sole that will decrease stress in the big toe joint. If I had to pick one shoe for nurses, I would pick Dansko clogs. To see more choices than you could ever want, click on our recommended running shoe list. Or visit the experts at ZUMFOOT, for something healthy and fashionable.  Remember...you nurses deliver all of the care that actually happens. You need your feet to take of the rest of us. Treat your feet as well as you treat your patients.

Dr. Christopher Segler is a nationally recognized award winning foot and ankle surgeon practicing in Chattanooga Tennessee. He is the inventor of a patented surgical instrument designed to simplify bunion surgery. He has published articles teaching other surgeons about his techniques about how to decrease pain after bunion surgery. You can request a FREE copy of his new book about common causes of foot pain at http:www.anklecenter.com.