comfortable footwear for residency?
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Depends on what you do. I know a number of nurses, who are reported to work when not on break, who wear them. I know a number of medical techs who wear them while watching the instruments work in the lab. And people who cut up people and get paid for it not uncommonly wear them. I suppose I wouldn't recommend them for the average lawyer, but then again they've been known to dance around in or spout already digested material. Simple fact is, some people find plain crocs comfortable, and they're certainly easy to clean even with harsh chemicals such as bleach. I guess that doesn't make them appropriate, though.
As for the OP, again I think it depends on what exactly you're doing and the impression you want or need to give people. A lot of labs have regulations against open-toed shoes or more specific footwear rules. Some will only let you wear completely closed shoes including closed crocs, while others will let you wear those with multiple small holes for some aeration.
I'm a fairly tall guy so I doubt my preferences would match yours. But personally I thought I was fairly hard on shoes in internship and residency, and wore out maybe a half dozen pair or so. I usually spent days going around and trying on every black shoe I could find for comfort, durability, look, etc. I didn't settle on anything until my last year'ish, when I was also doing a LOT less running around, and those are the LL Bean comfort mocs. At least, when I'm not wearing crocs.
Your mileage will almost certainly vary. Considerably.
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I'm not sure how you made it through IM rounds and surgery rotations in medical school without figuring out what shoes are comfortable, but I'm happy to offer suggestions.
FYI I have sort of weird feet (not as bad as my brother, who is totally flat footed and needs orthotic inserts in his shoes, but bad enough). My arches are very low and long and I have a narrow heel with lots of pronation. I couldn't wear regular "B" medium width shoes until high school (needed narrow "A" width before that), and even now only a few brands really fit well without any heel slippage.
For work I alternate between wearing the Dansko clogs that everyone loves and a pair of Keens (the style I like is "Briggs"). It took me a little while to get used to the fact that your heels are designed to slide in and out of the Danskos, but now I love them. I find the Danskos are great for everything except stairs (which you eventually get used to) and while my feet will start to feel a little tired at the end of the day, I have zero low back pain and once I have the shoes off there is no residual ache or soreness. The Keens are a little better if I will be walking more, but I will eventually get some lower back pain if I have to stand in one place for over 3-4 continuously with them (but my feet get less achy/tired).
I use Saucony running shoes to exercise and run errands, but I rarely wore them to the hospital, they just aren't comfortable enough to stand still in for long periods.
I have seen lots of people in the hospital wear Crocs, but I would NOT recommend them. They seemed completely without support when I tried them on and I have seen way too many pictures of Crocs with needles sticking out of the holes (I know we don't work with needles that much, but imagine accidentally dropping formalin or glass slides or something on your feet with all those holes in them) - there is a reason that you are supposed to wear closed toed shoes in the hospital.
In terms of something with a heel, I would advise that you put comfort over style (or a desire to look taller - the Dansko clogs have soles that are as thick as some low heels anyway) and avoid heels altogether unless you know you won't be on your feet very much when you wear them. I do have a pair of Naot heels, which I found at Nordstrom, for those occasions, but they aren't as comfortable as I had hoped they would be for the price. Although, to be fair, I've only worn them once or twice, so they might need to be broken in a bit more.
FYI I have sort of weird feet (not as bad as my brother, who is totally flat footed and needs orthotic inserts in his shoes, but bad enough). My arches are very low and long and I have a narrow heel with lots of pronation. I couldn't wear regular "B" medium width shoes until high school (needed narrow "A" width before that), and even now only a few brands really fit well without any heel slippage.
For work I alternate between wearing the Dansko clogs that everyone loves and a pair of Keens (the style I like is "Briggs"). It took me a little while to get used to the fact that your heels are designed to slide in and out of the Danskos, but now I love them. I find the Danskos are great for everything except stairs (which you eventually get used to) and while my feet will start to feel a little tired at the end of the day, I have zero low back pain and once I have the shoes off there is no residual ache or soreness. The Keens are a little better if I will be walking more, but I will eventually get some lower back pain if I have to stand in one place for over 3-4 continuously with them (but my feet get less achy/tired).
I use Saucony running shoes to exercise and run errands, but I rarely wore them to the hospital, they just aren't comfortable enough to stand still in for long periods.
I have seen lots of people in the hospital wear Crocs, but I would NOT recommend them. They seemed completely without support when I tried them on and I have seen way too many pictures of Crocs with needles sticking out of the holes (I know we don't work with needles that much, but imagine accidentally dropping formalin or glass slides or something on your feet with all those holes in them) - there is a reason that you are supposed to wear closed toed shoes in the hospital.
In terms of something with a heel, I would advise that you put comfort over style (or a desire to look taller - the Dansko clogs have soles that are as thick as some low heels anyway) and avoid heels altogether unless you know you won't be on your feet very much when you wear them. I do have a pair of Naot heels, which I found at Nordstrom, for those occasions, but they aren't as comfortable as I had hoped they would be for the price. Although, to be fair, I've only worn them once or twice, so they might need to be broken in a bit more.
I got a pair of crocs as a gift, and I was surprised to find them very comfortable. I like them a lot and they work well for me.
I also have Keens, which are great shoes but expensive. My style also has many holes, so I wanted something a little more covering for the toes.
I also have Keens, which are great shoes but expensive. My style also has many holes, so I wanted something a little more covering for the toes.
I never called them fashionable. If I had, I would have had to disclose that during my fraternity days the mere threat of waking up wearing the purple-grey (faded to a lovely pink) sweatsuit, dubbed The Purple Jumpsuit, which up until joining -I- soberly wore around with some regularity, was enough to drive the groggiest pledge or brother to near-instant terrified sobriety. Then and only then would you have been able to properly consider any fashion advice I might provide. Thankfully, to my recollection I never made such a statement.
I have had 3 pairs of Danskos for about 5 years and I love them. The "Professional" is what most people wear and they're really not that nice to look at, but they seem to be standard hospital dress code these days. Friends who aren't in the medical field think they're hideous. My feet don't hurt at the end of the day, so that makes them beautiful to me!
Dansko sells probably a hundred different styles, so there are other options if you want to be more fashionable. Most of them give a good lift since the soles tend to be thick.
Our lab has a policy against open-toed and open-backed shoes, so you might check your lab's policy before making a huge investment on something you won't be able to wear to work.
At times I wear my tennis shoes to work, but only when I won't be in the lab or doing procedures. The thought of getting body fluids or formalin on the cloth part is repulsive to me....probably wouldn't ever wear them again.😛
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