Clogs and the local hospital

This article appeared in our local paper on the topic of clogs at work.
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Last updated at 9:31 AM on 07/08/07
Local nurses walking on happy feet
JESSICA KIUNGA
The Prince Albert Daily Herald
This comfortable shoe has hit marketplace in big way and Prince Albert nurses say they are comfortable to wear on shift. Joan Gordon takes a phone call while sporting hers. Herald photo by Karen Longwell Jean Pelletier has been a nurse for the past 40 years — that's meant of lot time spent on her feet.

After all the shoes she's worn in that time, Pelletier says the comfy rubber clogs called Holey Soles tops them all.

"These are the best shoes I've ever had," Pelletier said, adding she'll keep wearing the shoes until retirement. But if a policy trend that's taken a foothold in other hospitals across the country steps into the Prince Albert health region, nurses like Pelletier, who wear similar shoes, might have to spend the day on a far less comfortable and far more expensive shoe.

What the policy is
The Prince Albert Parkland Health Region currently does not have a strict policy about what employees have to wear on the job, according to spokesman Doug Dahl.
But workers are given some footwear recommendations - if they want to wear clogs, they need have ones with straps on the back.

"Not just the straight slip-on," said Dahl.

Closed-toe shoes are also recommended. Some Vancouver-area health centres and others in Ontario have told workers that clogs don't comply with footwear policies and are ousting them.

What the fuss is all about
There's apparent concern that clogs with large holes could pose a danger if a nurse were to drop a needle, or spill bodily fluids.

But Prince Albert nurses seem to think the benefits of their clogs outweigh the risks.


The Prince Albert Daily Herald: News I Local nurses walking on happy feet Joan Gordon, another hospital nurse, said her Holey Soles have saved her feet from feeling like they're on fire. Gordon, who's been nursing for 30-some years, used to buy $300 German-made shoes to support her aching feet. Even then, her feet got sore.

"My feet continually would hurt and be burning."

Now she pays $35 per pair or less for her clogs and the burning sensation has all but disappeared. "They're just the most comfortable pair of shoes I've ever had."

Not a huge safety concern
Marg Boettcher, a nurse for 45 years, says if the clog shoes were ever banned in hospital policy, she'd have to head back to the shops to find something that could replace the "super comfortable" clogs she's been wearing for the past nine months.

Despite warnings of potential safety hazards from other hospital authorities, she says things like needle safety devices would make it difficult to injure yourself on the job, even if there are holes in your shoes.

"There should be no way you are going to drop a needle onto your shoe if you're following safety (procedures)," she said. With files from the Canadian Press