Anyone work in a hospital? What shoes do you wear?

[vitaminC]

I'm about to start full-time clinical rotations after Christmas and am seriously short of suitable footwear for this time of year. I've done shorter placements in the past couple of years where I either wore ballet flats or crocs, depending on the setting.

It's cold here right now, and likely to snow well into April, so I've been mainly wearing boots, but they're too hot for inside the hospital. I plan to wear them for the commute, then change on arrival.

Besides ballet flats, I own a pair of block-heel brogues (probably a bit high) and a pair of flat brogues (rather uncomfortable, unfortunately). Everything else is ridiculously unsuitable for this type of work (killer heels etc).

I also worry about ruining decent shoes with bodily fluids etc spilling on them, so am thinking of buying a couple of pairs specifically for work.
My standard outfit is generally a skirt + sweater. Sometimes woollen suit trousers if it's very cold. Any suggestions for comfortable, practical shoes that are not too ugly? Thank you.

I'm on placement a lot, depending on specialty/time of year I rotate between these(have in multiple colours and find them very comfy)
these
these

One of my friends recommends Hotter but I rarely see anything I like, these are ok I suppose.

Might be worth checking with your hospital though as they may have their own rules about materials.

If weather's bad I change shoes once I get there.

Thanks TenuousGrip. The shoes in your first link look perfect. I may order a couple of pairs to replace the uncomfortable ones I own.

I was also thinking of looking for some loafers, as I think they would stay on better than ballet flats. I've seen some from Aerosoles on Amazon, which I'm considering ordering, but keeping my eyes peeled for any others...

The Hotter ones are not really my style.

No rules about clothing or footwear, that I know of, btw - only jewellery!

When I worked on the wards I would wear this type of shoe www.hewats.com/prod.php?sec=17&pid=452 - not the nicest looking shoes I know but comfortable and most importantly in my opinion machine washable!

Thank you. Those do look very comfortable and practical. Perfect for surgical placements, I would think. And very reasonably priced, too!

DP wears these ezi-clogs www.russums-shop.co.uk/i/q/CS217/toffeln-ezi-klog?gclid=CMCO4OPA3MICFUcTwwodNlAAPA#CS217-PK-E36
The strap can be worn at the back of the heel and there's no holes on the toes for blood/gunk to get through and they can be sterilised in a bucket of bleach if needed. You can also get cashback/discount if you order them through Viking Direct to make them a bit cheaper

Thanks, Petallic. I have some very similar to that and they are great for messy jobs. However for ward rounds in some departments I need something smarter, but still comfortable and practical.

Good to know about the VD discount

I've also got the clarks brogues linked above, very comfortable but I have slipped on the hospital floors when walking quickly. I'm currently wearing something similar to these. Not the most stylish pair of shoes, but comfortable and practical.

I am a midwife and I wear fit flops professionals. They are the best shoes I have ever had for work. They are not particularly stylish but my feet never hurt and they can be cleaned and have antibacterial insoles etc.

Ha! I saw some very similar to those in Decathlon and almost bought them, but figured they may not be sturdy enough. I'll probably wait and buy those for the summer, but they do look practical and comfy!

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. Going to do some online shopping over the Christmas holiday...

Oops, last reply was to Frenchplait.

I've never looked at Fitflops. I'll check them out. Thanks bigbuts (love your username )

ED : clean trainers (usually older gym ones rather than ones ive used outside, although have been known to use sandals one particularly hot summer, and walking boots one bad winter)

Nights on call : trainers - with scrubs, if im going to be running to crash calls, i want comfy feet. Also consider grips if you will cover more than one building at speed!

Days on wards or ward/clinic mixture : flats, or very small heel, usual suspects being clarks, sketchers or hush puppies. Usually black (match more of my work options, but a friend had awesome red hush puppies last autumn, another had pastel coloured doc marten Mary Janes which were awesome!)

Theatre : black fitflop pros. I cannot sing their praises enough. Still want a non-theatre pair of work-suitable fitflops really, but i do have flip flop ones for home as well. Best workwear purchase ever.

Primary care : still generally stick to flats but mainly force of habit. For ooh see ED, at least in terms of shoes!

Leather shoes will wipe clean fine with green clinell wipes if you get into a mess, but realistically that's only going to happen in ED or theatre.

Most importantly (advice I give to all my students) : NEVER WEAR NEW SHOES ON CALL

And make sure you have trousers or skirts with pockets!

Thanks, knottyknitter, that's really helpful!

Re pockets: we still have (compulsory) white coats here