7 Best Shoes For Nurses

How we test walking shoes

We take pride in publishing unbiased reviews. To do so, we rigidly follow these protocols: 

• We buy the shoes with our own money. No sponsorships. No X-deals. We are as much consumers of these shoes as you are.
• We test the shoes while walking and doing standing jobs and tasks. We also test them on different surfaces, but mostly on concrete and cement. We are a group of testers here, so our experiences are diverse. You can always read about the authors of reviews and their bios on our website.
• We analyse the data from our lab tests. We publish reviews in a way that allows you to compare shoes and see the differences between models at a glance. Additionally, we split the shoes in half to see all the layers and elements inside.

What makes the best shoe for nurses (it’s NOT just any shoe)

Considering how many hours nurses spend on their feet throughout the shift, a good pair of shoes becomes just as essential as a medical face mask. What is the price of poor shoe choice?

Unfortunately, research shows that nursing professionals have a higher risk of musculoskeletal disorders due to prolonged walking and standing. The latter is also associated with lower back and leg pain all of which call for interventions like floor mats, sit-stand workstations/chairs, shoe inserts, special hosiery, and of course, a proper pair of shoes.

So what is a proper pair of shoes for nurses anyway? Let’s break it down:

1. Well-cushioned: The midsole foam is thick enough to maintain cushioning and impact protection for long bouts of walking and standing.
2. Supportive: It makes you feel stable and surefooted and doesn’t force micromovements that increase foot fatigue.
3. Caters to your foot conditions: As a healthcare professional, you take care of your patients 24/7 but do your shoes cater to your personal health conditions (if any)? Flat feet, bunions, plantar fasciitis, etc.
4. Well-fitting: The shoe feels on point both length- and width-wise.
5. Breathable: Sweat and heat don’t build up easily in the shoe.
6. Special requirements: Maybe you prefer a leather upper for easier wipe cleaning or a slip-resistant outsole to minimise the risk of slipping on wet tiles. Or maybe your hospital has a strictly regulated dress code.

Why athletic shoes may be better than Crocs

A lot of nurses and many other healthcare professionals have a strong favour for Crocs and swear by these cosy foam clogs. They mention comfort, support, and ease of cleaning as some of the top reasons for choosing this footwear type.

But there are a few solid reasons why you may prefer wearing athletic shoes on your shifts:

• Originally designed for walking and running long miles outdoors, they offer better cushioning, support, and durability overall.
• They are more suitable for running when a situation calls for it.
• They offer a more secure lockdown. With a padded heel counter at the back and a foot-hugging midfoot cage with laces, your foot is buckled up much more firmly.
• Nearly all these shoes can accommodate a custom orthotic.
• If you choose shoes with leather uppers, they will keep your feet protected from spills, blood, and other bodily fluids. Unlike Crocs, whose trademark holes and slip-on designs leave the top and the back of your feet exposed.
• They keep the foot fresher with a mesh or knit upper and a textile inner lining, unlike the all-foam interiors of Crocs.

Choosing a well-cushioned shoe for nurses

How much cushioning to look for exactly? A study conducted among nursing professionals concluded that there should be 15 mm of “EVA materials” in the metatarsal zone and between 18 and 36 mm of heel height.

In other words, the shoe’s forefoot and heel stack, respectively.

In our lab, stack height includes all of the shoe layers between the foot and the ground (the insole, the midsole, and the outsole).

That’s why, we recommend getting a shoe with at least 30 mm of heel stack to ensure that your feet and legs are properly protected during the whole shift. Consequently, the recommended forefoot stack starts at 20 mm.

As for the cushioning softness, there are no strict rules. You can opt for a softer midsole for the cloud-like sensation or choose a firmer one for a better sense of support (or because you have foot conditions that call for it).

Example of a shoe with balanced cushioning

Either way, we don’t recommend going too far into the marshmallow town because plush foams tend to wear out faster and are less stable for long periods of walking.

We measure the foam softness of all shoes with a Shore A durometer. The lower the reading, the plusher the foam:

• soft: 20 HA or less
• balanced: 20-30 HA (recommended)
• firm: 30 HA or more

Have at least two shoes in your rotation (if possible)

You know when the shoe’s outsole is worn out or its upper is torn apart but how about the cushioning? It may not show visible signs but there are a few tangible ones:

• you start to experience pain, rubbing, or discomfort in new areas of your feet and legs
• the midsole got thinner on the inner side and your feet are now tilted

Considering that most running and walking shoes last for about 300-500 miles (480–800 km), you can do a little math with the data from your fitness tracker and check if it’s time for a new pair of shoes.

That’s why having at least two shoes in your rotation (preferably an older one and a newer one) helps to spot signs of cushioning deterioration in time. Additional benefits of interchanging shoes include:

• prevention for plantar fasciitis
• allowing shoes to recoil and restore their cushioning properties
• sanitation and maintenance

A supportive shoe is a must

This doesn’t necessarily mean arch support.

A supportive shoe will prevent your feet from working overtime as they try to stabilise the rest of your body during long hours of walking and standing. As a result, less fatigue at the end of the day.

On another note, you don’t want to feel tippy and wobbly as you assist a patient getting back on their feet after surgery or when transferring them from beds to chairs.

But how do you know if a shoe is supportive enough?

In our lab, we perform several tests that help us assess each shoe’s support level and pick out the most stable options for nurses. These include:

• torsional rigidity (how hard it is to twist the shoe)
• heel counter stiffness (how much heel and ankle hold it offers)
• midsole width (how big is the landing area)

A simple rule goes like this - if you can wring a shoe out like a dishrag with your hands, it’s not supportive enough for all-day wear.

The tables below feature the most supportive shoes that received our seal of approval for long hours of walking and standing.

Always take your foot conditions into account

Nurses in this study agree that foot health is not only part of general health but is also a significant part of work well-being (and even a precondition for working in the operating theatre).

Either way, neglecting your personal foot needs does not lead to a good outcome.

The most common foot health concerns among nurses include:

• flat feet and /or overpronation
• plantar fasciitis

Flat feet and excessive pronation call for more arch support and side-to-side stability in a nurse’s shoe. You will also benefit from a firmer type of cushioning that eliminates foot wobbling. See our guide on shoes for flat feet/overpronation.

Similarly to flat feet, plantar fasciitis requires a stable and supportive shoe with firmer cushioning and a secure heel counter. A proper shoe will minimise micromovements and in-shoe shifting of the foot to prevent aggravation of the plantar fascia. See our guide on shoes for plantar fasciitis.

Make sure you get the right size and fit

With your foot health and work performance at stake, it is well worth investing some time and effort into finding a well-fitting pair of shoes.

That includes considering both size (length) and fit (width)

Size: As tempting as it is to order your regular shoe size, we recommend measuring your current foot length first. One reason for this is that our feet continue to grow and change shape even in adulthood, especially when we gain weight or get pregnant.

Another reason is that brands have different approaches to shoe sizing and knowing your precise foot length increases the chance of ordering the right size.

Fit: Having lab-tested hundreds of shoes, we found that the fit and toebox shape can vary greatly even within the same brand!

That’s why we recommend that you have a look at the fit section of our lab reviews before ordering the shoe. In the meantime, here are some general recommendations:

• Avoid shoes with aggressively tapered (pointy) toeboxes because your feet increase in volume after hours of walking and standing.
• Choose shoes with wide and rounded toeboxes if you have medium-to-wide feet and/or bunions (for the latter, we also recommend stretchy knit uppers).
• Opt for wide or extra wide width options if you have wide or very wide feet (Hoka, Brooks, and New Balance release most of their shoes in multiple widths).

Breathable shoes for nurses

There is always a tradeoff between protecting your feet from accidents with liquids and keeping them refreshingly free from sweat and odour. Because leather shoes and foam clogs will always lack ventilation.

But if some of your shifts tend to be “cleaner” than others, it is worth wearing an airy shoe with a mesh upper to give your feet a breather.

Every shoe in our lab goes through several tests that reveal its breathability. We pump smoke through the toebox, hover the shoe’s half-cut upper over the LED light to find ventilation holes, and even investigate the material up close through a microscope.

In the end, we assign each shoe a breathability score from 1 to 5, where 5 shows the best ventilation. We gathered the most breathable shoes for nurses to help you manage sweat and odour on duty:

Special features in shoes for nurses

Slip resistance is one of the highly requested shoe features among hospital workers. Smooth tiles and linoleum floors paired with frequent spills of all sorts of liquids are a hazardous mix. However, research conducted among healthcare workers concluded that the provision of appropriate slip-resistant footwear was more effective at reducing workplace slips, specifically for older staff.

However, there aren’t many shoes with officially certified slip resistance and this can limit your shoe choice significantly. In that case, just make sure that the shoe has a full-length rubber outsole at the bottom because it has some inherent tackiness anyway.

Luckily, brands like Hoka, Brooks, and New Balance incorporate more shoes with approved slip resistance into their catalogues.

Shoes with leather uppers may compromise breathability but they offer unparalleled protection from spills of chemicals and bodily fluid and they are easy to wipe clean.

Not to mention that these shoes feel more supportive, last longer, and create a more professional appearance. They often come in austere monochromatic colours to meet strictly regulated dress code policies.

Here are the top-rated leather shoes for nurses we’ve tested in the lab:

Popular athletic shoe brands that offer shoes (and discounts) for nurses

Even though their major focus falls on performance sports shoes, some of these renowned brands incorporated their best footwear practises to make high-quality walking shoes that can be recommended to nurses. And a few of them even designed shoes specifically for nurses.