Shoes!

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What kind of shoes do you wear in the ER?

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docB

docB

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With the election looming and lots of heated topics on the board it's time we tackled a really important issue: shoes.

Who wears what and why? What's the most important factor? Comfort, washability, fashion?

And who cares anyway?
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I scoffed at the Dansko clogs. "No freakin' way," I said. "I'm just a part-time employee anyway," I said. "My Doc Martens or Mephistos or running shoes are good enough for a day at the office and a walk around the bar district," I said.

Then I worked two 8-hour shifts in one week, on top of my 40-hour Dilbert job. The other shoes would clearly not cut it. Funny, how you never stop moving in the ED.

Then I sheepishly tried the Danskos at the mall. I bought them. "They're just for work," I said. "Nobody will see them."

Now I wear nothing else, just about. Screw fashion. I'm a hippie Scandinavian deep in my soul, so why not look like one? And anyway, they feel sort of like Western boots in their swagger, and I'm an inch taller. It's a net plus, any way I look at it.
 
Febrifuge said:
I scoffed at the Dansko clogs. "No freakin' way," I said. "I'm just a part-time employee anyway," I said. "My Doc Martens or Mephistos or running shoes are good enough for a day at the office and a walk around the bar district," I said.

Then I worked two 8-hour shifts in one week, on top of my 40-hour Dilbert job. The other shoes would clearly not cut it. Funny, how you never stop moving in the ED.

Then I sheepishly tried the Danskos at the mall. I bought them. "They're just for work," I said. "Nobody will see them."

Now I wear nothing else, just about. Screw fashion. I'm a hippie Scandinavian deep in my soul, so why not look like one? And anyway, they feel sort of like Western boots in their swagger, and I'm an inch taller. It's a net plus, any way I look at it.
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I fully agree that it's a NET plus (I wear mine most of the time too)...but they still look like women's shoes...mine don't smell like women's shoes though. Although, after saying it, I'm not sure what women's shoes are supposed to smell like. Suffice it to say that mine don't generally smell very good.


Willamette
 
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My Merrill clogs are the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned. Trust in a company that makes hiking boots to make a clog that's comfortable and tough.
 
im part hobbit.... :D
 
The only thing better than CLOGS are a pair of either Born or Clarke Sandals that are full foot slip ons. They are both stylish and comfortable.
 
K, I'm not an ER doc, I'm a 2nd year med student with a lot of EMS work....

Who loves her Merrill jungle mocs. I have 2 pairs (one black suede and one black leather because the suede would be uncleanable if bodily fluids spilled on it), and once I get into rotations I'm probably buying 1 or 2 more pairs (brown and maybe one other fun pair). Best is that my feet are small so I can fit in kids sizes and get them cheaper :cool:
 
During the day shift (7a-7p), I voluntarily choose to wear a shirt and tie. Yeah yeah, stop the shock. So I wear dress shoes. Not the most comfortable but whatever. If I'm in wearing tennis shoes.

Q
 
QuinnNSU said:
I voluntarily choose to wear a shirt and tie.
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Q, good luck with those therapy sessions. Hopefully, you'll gain your tie-less senses soon. :)

As for shoes, I'm a tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, gun-totin' Texan which means 1) my feet are comfortable in the ED and 2) my therapy sessions are on-going.

Take care,
Jeff
 
PluckyDuk8 said:
K, I'm not an ER doc, I'm a 2nd year med student with a lot of EMS work....

Who loves her Merrill jungle mocs. :cool:
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Love those Merrill mocs! I have a pair of SuperFeet inserts in mine... ahhh!
 
Depends on how I'm feeling... Some days are definitely Dansko days. Some days are tennis shoes days. Unfortunately, if I really need to be wearing one, I've usually got the other on. For example, a day on OB when I was helping with a PUBS. Long story short, yours truly and another med student were tapped to "run" the blood to the lab. And they meant run, as in they're holding elevators because the obstetrician has a foot-long needle in this lady's belly, and has to know the baby's hemoglobin NOW. And again. And again post-transfusion.

Bad, bad Danskos. Hard to run. Almost took out a hospital patron who couldn't respect that this might be an Actual Emergency - in a hospital of all places.

I do like the look of those jungle mocs, though... I've got a pair of Merrill hikers, and they rock. (Sometimes I wear those, actually - damn comfy)
 
Can't afford the Merrill's (yet) but do have a very cool pair of purple clogs. Very stylish :D . Do tend to scare off the nurses tho.... wonder why? :rolleyes:
 
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QuinnNSU said:
I voluntarily choose to wear a shirt and tie.
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:eek: Just wait til that first patient sues for the MRSA they caught from your silk armeni fomite... ;)
 
May I suggest the Merrill's or Asics-brand tennis shoes with Dr. Scholl's gel inserts? Don't sleep, both are money combinations.
 
VienneseWaltz said:
Hey docB, how'd you vote twice?
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I set up the poll so you can vote for more than one thing. I switch back and forth between running shoes and clogs so I picked both.

For me the neat thing about clogs is that you can kick them off under the desk while you chart and then slip them back on easily. But, they're not good if you you have to walk long distances or run to codes. So, when I'm in the bigger ERs I wear New Balance. I also have this cool pair of Timberline shoes that are water proof. I've gotten tham drenched in blood and nothing leaked through so they're cool.
 
Birkenstock makes clogs with a partial heal, making running easier. They even have some nice dress shoes, for those who like to wear fomites.
 
My shoe choice is highly dependent on what I wear to work. The vast majority of the time, I wear dress clothes, so I wear dress shoes. I have a pair of kenneth cole reaction shoes that are very comfortable and look nice with slacks adn a blouse.

On the rare occasion that I wear scrubs, I wear either my merrill slip on shoes or those ugly green clogs that surgeons usually wear.

I need to find some dressier leather clogs to wear with my work clothes.


You can never have to many pairs of shoes. ever.
 
QuinnNSU said:
During the day shift (7a-7p), I voluntarily choose to wear a shirt and tie. Yeah yeah, stop the shock. So I wear dress shoes. Not the most comfortable but whatever. If I'm in wearing tennis shoes.

Q
Click to expand...

Me too. Hell, I wore a tie overnight last night in the Peds ED. People talking about MRSA from ties are talking out of their asses. Even IF a tie is full of germs, so what? Look at Annals, April 2004 - sterile gloves or nonsterile to suture wounds, no difference in infection rates. Look in Roberts and Hedges about tap water irrigation (one such study, my colleague, E. Brooke Lerner, did), and how, regardless of the gnarly bugs routinely cultured from faucets, millions of Americans (hell, even...maybe...some people on SDN) are proof positive that Mom putting their cuts under running water in the kitchen or bathroom did not get infected.

In other news, I wear dress shoes...sort of. I have a pair of wingtips that have a rubber sole (hey - good name for an album...), so, even though I look like a fashion plate, my dogs ain't barkin' at the end of the shift.
 
docB said:
With the election looming and lots of heated topics on the board it's time we tackled a really important issue: shoes.

Who wears what and why? What's the most important factor? Comfort, washability, fashion?

And who cares anyway?
Click to expand...

I volunteer in an ED and when I do so it's comfy running shoes. The air of professionalism is less demanding when you are just volunteering your time stocking up supplies and keeping patients and their families comforted and informed.

When I'm working as an ambulance attendant I have to wear black steel-toed shoes because of work regulations from liability issues, say if I happen to drop something on my feet.

Overall, the most important factor would be comfort. By the end of the day, when my feet feel like they're on fire, I could give a damn about fashion and would rather go for something more practical. :)
 
I don't wear shoes in the ED. I wear buckets of broken glass.

I'm a first-year student. The third- and fourth-years all tell me that this is just "de rigeur." They say I'll match EM if I prove my mettle now. :thumbup:


--Funkless
 
Apollyon said:
Me too. Hell, I wore a tie overnight last night in the Peds ED. People talking about MRSA from ties are talking out of their asses. Even IF a tie is full of germs, so what? Look at Annals, April 2004 - sterile gloves or nonsterile to suture wounds, no difference in infection rates. Look in Roberts and Hedges about tap water irrigation (one such study, my colleague, E. Brooke Lerner, did), and how, regardless of the gnarly bugs routinely cultured from faucets, millions of Americans (hell, even...maybe...some people on SDN) are proof positive that Mom putting their cuts under running water in the kitchen or bathroom did not get infected.

In other news, I wear dress shoes...sort of. I have a pair of wingtips that have a rubber sole (hey - good name for an album...), so, even though I look like a fashion plate, my dogs ain't barkin' at the end of the shift.
Click to expand...

Tomorrow is a 7a-7p but since its the weekend and immediately after my shift I am going to a HouseStaff party, I will be wearing scrubs and athletic shoes. But check out this pic of one of my attending's shoes!
 

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EM green and yellow nikes?!?!? awesome :laugh: :laugh:

QuinnNSU said:
Tomorrow is a 7a-7p but since its the weekend and immediately after my shift I am going to a HouseStaff party, I will be wearing scrubs and athletic shoes. But check out this pic of one of my attending's shoes!
Click to expand...
 
drgirlnyu said:
EM green and yellow nikes?!?!? awesome :laugh: :laugh:
Click to expand...

Yeah, he designed them himself on the Nike website.

If any of you have seen "Trauma: Life in the ER" that attending is the one on the show.

Q
 
Dude, purple scrubs?
 
Febrifuge said:
Dude, purple scrubs?
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Nothing wrong with purple scrubs. I have purple scrubs. Phht.
:D
 
OK, two things here. First and most important: It appears that clogs are the favorite narrowly edging out sneakers. Yay for clogs! :hardy:

Second: I just realized that I posted a poll with a blatant typo/spelling error in the categories. I've got to quit posting at 0230 (he thinks while he's posting at 0230). At the end of a long ED shift I'm not surprised that I misspelled "athletic" but I do hate to appear illiterate. Oh well.
 
QuinnNSU said:
Tomorrow is a 7a-7p but since its the weekend and immediately after my shift I am going to a HouseStaff party, I will be wearing scrubs and athletic shoes. But check out this pic of one of my attending's shoes!
Click to expand...


1- purple scrubs???????? :eek:
2-those are some da*n ugly shoes. I hope thier comfortable. :laugh:
 
docB said:
Second: I just realized that I posted a poll with a blatant typo/spelling error in the categories. I've got to quit posting at 0230 (he thinks while he's posting at 0230). At the end of a long ED shift I'm not surprised that I misspelled "athletic" but I do hate to appear illiterate. Oh well.
Click to expand...

Eh, well, this former editor voted at a much more reasonable hour, with caffeine and everything, and totally missed it, too ... :p
 
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