Men’s feet are not as small and dainty as women’s. So it can be a challenge to find nursing shoes that work best for men.
Sizing is also an issue for us guys, with sizing ranging from 5-14 in women’s sizing, and 7-14 in men’s sizes. So what are some good choices? That answer is going to vary depending on your needs. Below I have provided some of the top rated options currently available on Amazon along with their features so you can make an informed decision about which ones will work best for you!
Our Recommended Male Nursing Shoes
It’s one thing to know you’re in the market for a better pair of nursing shoes for men than you currently enjoy and quite another to actually figure out which of the many options out there on the market is really right for you. I myself checked out a few different ones first before making my decision, and below are my reviews of these shoes.
- Dansko Men’s Professional Clog – Clogs for Male Nurse
- Brooks Men’s Adrenaline GTS 19 – Best Sneakers for Male Nurses
- Clarks Men’s Cotrell Free Loafer – Best Slip-On Loafer for Male Nurse
- New Balance Men’s Fresh Foam Tennis Shoe – Best Tennis Shoe for Male Nurse
- Keen Utility Men’s PTC – Best Work Shoe for Male Nurse
1. Dansko Men’s Professional Clog – Clogs for Male Nurse
Mandy Cabot and Peter Kjellerup only had two goals in mind when they left their career as high-demand runway models to start a shoe company. To make the most comfortable shoes in world, and to share them with everyone possible.
It was a risk worth taking— today more people wear Dansko than any other shoe brand on earth. They’ve been keeping lives (and feet) healthy for over 30 years now, by designing not just well thought-out “comfort” shoes, but well-thought-out designer clogs that are as stylish as they are functional–making it easier for you to bring the look of your home outside into the office or classroom.
We know you’ve seen these clogs, and the thing is that they look GREAT. The Dansko Men’s Professional Clog has a sleek style to them: the leather uppers are flexible with roomy reinforced toe box for your comfort when walking. Along with this ‘instep collar’ to give additional support as well as air-mesh lining, we think it’s no wonder why these are so popular among moms who work at home or any mom in general! You don’t need to worry about fragile soles since it’s made of 100% leather; a polyurethane sole combined with rubber outsoles will last a long time without sacrificing beauty. There’s even padded tongue and collar for comfort when walking.
The roomy reinforced toe box keeps your toes safe while the soft, padded lining offers comfort and ease of wear. Features include: PU outsole with rocker bottom to propel foot forward and provide shock absorption, wide heel strike for greater stability, durable suede upper with mesh lining that’s easy to clean and comfortable on your feet all day long, plastic shank embedded in midsole for stable footing and firm arch support–it’s what you need to complete any workday requirement!
The Dansko Men’s Professional Clog is a classic. It looks good and feels even better. The polyurethane rocker-bottom sole is designed to protect your feet, legs, and back from the stress of standing or walking and propel you forward. The toe box has been ergonomically designed for maximum comfort in all types of footwear wearers so you can stand strong on a variety of surfaces for long hours with ease. Ready to roll out? This clog will have your toes tapping in no time! GO FOR IT!
2. Brooks Men’s Adrenaline GTS 19 – Best Sneakers for Male Nurses
Look no further than the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 19 if you’re in need of a supportive shoe with an updated Guiderail system to keep your lower body moving happily. The new design focuses on keeping you comfortable, reducing friction and preventing injuries – it’s like running with a built-in friend!
Ideal for runners who are looking for a comfy ride without sacrificing support or stability, The newest iteration of the Brooks Adrenaline GTS is all set up to make your miles go by that much faster. This wonderful update includes Northshield™ technology combined with GuideRails™ to reduce excess motion found in most runners’ knees – making runs easier on them more often. Plus Cushion+ foam enhances every step from
With a synthetic and mesh upper, this shoe is made with your feet in mind. Hardworking, strong, and poised to take whatever you bring their way – these shoes will be loyal to their runner until the end. Ideal for sudden changes in conditions like quick changes on terrain or shade: this jogger can handle it all! It doesn’t stop there though; did we mention these shoes have a rubber sole as well? Put some pride into your stride with this shoe from Fast Times Apparel today.
Provide the performance and durability of a high-tech shoe without feeling like you’re in armor. The Adrenaline GTS 19 has enough cushioning for long distances, but is lighter than ever before, with feel-good DNA BioMoGo foam that’s engineered to offer just the right combination of responsiveness and comfort underfoot.
The 3D Fit Print upper provides a streamlined look for both men or women – while never sacrificing the proven fit and structure of Brooks ® go-to shoes. Add this lightweight yet durable shoe to your nursing routine – it’ll help you keep running (or walking) strong!
3. Clarks Men’s Cotrell Free Loafer – Best Slip-On Loafer for Male Nurse
Clarks has always been committed to making shoes with the highest quality construction methods and materials. With its latest product, the Clarks Men’s Cotrell Free Loafer, they are once again proving that their dedication remains unmatched.
The full-grain leather upper conforms comfortably to your foot, lifting you up effortlessly for a carefree stride thanks to a contoured footbed equipped with heel cushioning made from Poron material. The Croslite soles give this loafer its lightweight feel as well as tough ankle support while remaining flexible enough for any twist or turn on your walk back home after work. You’ll be able to tackle even wearisome walks in total comfort thanks to a generous forefoot pad.
The Clarks Cottrell Free Loafer are a stylish and comfortable pair of shoes that will quickly become man’s go-to. With a removable Ortholite footbed, these shoes also feature stitch detailing to dress up any casual outfit. Now you can walk with ease!
If you want a pair of shoes that will take you from your slovenly days to professional success, look no further than the Clarks Men’s Cotrell Free Loafer. These versatile shoes are made with 100% leather and textile for wearing on any occasion. With an imported design, cushioned orthotic footbed with EVA outsole, these slip-ons have something for every guy in the office; whether they prefer lace ups or loafers. All this at a reasonable price!
4. New Balance Men’s Fresh Foam Tennis Shoe – Best Tennis Shoe for Male Nurse
No more swollen, painful feet with New Balance Men’s Fresh Foam Shoe. These shoes are so lightweight that you’ll never know you’re wearing them and they’ll fit your changing body like a glove. They’re made of 100% synthetic material; you may even forget that these are nursing shoes because they have such a funky design. With care taken to ensure the perfect shoe for moms-to-be and new mamas everywhere, it’s hard not to love this product!
When you need your kicks to be as flexible and streamlined throughout the whole day, these 8″ New Balance Men’s Fresh Foam Nursing Shoes will make sure of it. With a comfortable bootie construction that stretches around your foot like a sock, an Ortholite insert for cushioned comfort, and a built-in Fresh Foam midsole so you can move easily on any surface. Add external heel counter for stability during walks and the Kinetic stitch to keep them shapely without breaking when they’re in storage backstage or under hospital desks.
5. Keen Utility Men’s PTC – Best Work Shoe for Male Nurse
We are very excited to offer KEEN Utility Men’s PTC Slip On in 3″ shaft, which has a 12″ circumference and rubber sole. It is available in special colors for your preference such as black full grain leather.
Keen shoes are committed to providing you with all the footwear and foot protection for your everyday life. They have been excelling in their comfortable and yet durable mainstay style, the PTC Oxford. This shoe pairs well with casual attire but can also be a great work shoe when worn around town on your errands or even just as an evening out shoe.
The Keen Utility Men’s PTC Slip-On is perfect for those who love that clean-yet-rugged design of the beloved Keen Promenade shoes which has become synonymous with quality footwear over the years. Bringing you tough leather uppers and tough rubber outsole, this slip-on goes above and beyond standard features such as the KEEN Patented Toe Protection that wraps up over the toe box.
If your work is anything like ours, it’s hands-on and full of fun. The KEEN Utility Men’s PTC Slip-On combines the toughest outsole with premium leather to create shoes designed for all-day comfort. That’s because we know that a perfect product doesn’t stop at providing high-quality materials — it starts with understanding your active lifestyle and everything about what makes you tick. With features like stability shank, elastic paneling, compression midsoles and waterproof leather molds to keep moisture away, we guarantee you won’t be touching up after gardening, roofing or painting anytime soon! And when dirt sometimes means business (we’re looking at you warehouse workers), let KEEN’s scratch-resistant treatment.
Male Nursing Shoes Buying Guide
One of the few professions that require a uniform, everything in nursing from your head to your toes has to adhere to a strict dress code that your employer dictates. So, even your shoes have to meet specific standards, which includes a professional and neat appearance. Of course, health care providers also expect you to work shifts that are long, a majority of the time on your feet on floors made of hard tile.
Therefore, having quality footwear is absolutely detrimental to prevent any health issues, keeping comfortable, and performing your duties well and safely.
You’ll find that buying good nursing shoes is different than getting fashionable footwear, but isn’t really difficult to do. You will need to know how to choose the right one that meets the requirements of your boss while choosing a style that is suitable and pleasing to you, plus get the right material. You might guess first off that color is important, and you would be right. They don’t necessarily have to be white, but they should be able to blend into the color of your uniform.
There are five other factors which also have to be thought about when you select the best shoes which include keeping to your employer’s dress codes as already mentioned above, make sure your shoes will protect and stay on your feet, finding the right fit, getting good support and ensuring that the shoes are actually comfortable.
Requirements for Dress Code
Of most importance, your nursing shoes must meet the standards set by the facility or medical office in which you work. It is not likely that an employer will make an exception to the rules on uniforms, so you should not even consider alternative shoes in the first place.
Specifications to watch for generally include foot coverage, with closed toes just about always mandatory, but some places may permit open-back clogs. A range of approved colors should be indicated as well, and some places might have a special requirement in regards to the kind of sole, like whether it needs to be non-marking and/or quiet.
Right Materials
The standard is leather. A lot of hospitals and schools require that you do a daily polishing and cleaning of white leather shoes.
In some places these rules have relaxed, however, leather is still an ideal material for nursing shoes. It lets your feet breathe, while at the same time protecting them from spills. Vegan and synthetic options are also available as an alternative, but these tend to feel sweaty and hot after several hours at work. Suede is not recommended since it is not easy to clean, while fabrics like canvas will easily stain and will quickly be permeated by liquids. Rubber is fast becoming the new favorite for its washable and stain-resistant qualities.
Safety
Nursing is a very active and many times physically demanding career, and sometimes your whole person as a nurse is exposed to chemicals and bio-hazards, besides heavy movable equipment such as rolling gurneys, wheelchairs, and carts. Many times nurses work in an environment where the floors are wet with chemicals, water, or bodily fluids, so your shoes have to be non-slip. They should also be very easy to keep clean and pretty resistant to acid.
The Right Fit
The next detail which is truly important is getting the right fit. Even though it is not unheard of for a woman to squeeze her feet into footwear that does not fit correctly for fashion’s sake, this kind of action is total suicide in the nursing profession. If you are wearing nursing shoes that are too big, your feet will blister. If you have shoes which are too small or narrow, you’ll acquire corns, hammertoes, calluses, and bunions, besides a whole lot of pain.
Plus, remember that the width is just as important as the length when you are getting your feet for shoes. Footwear companies of quality will offer you their products in wide, narrow, and extra-wide widths, besides regular widths. If you have diabetes, you have to be even more attentive to the care of your feet, since they are prone to infections and neuropathy, conditions that are made worse by hours of walking and standing.
Support
Your footwear as a nurse needs to be fully supportive, and your foot should not slide around inside your shoe, plus your ankle needs to be supported. Your arch support is generally the main factor. Since people can have either very high or flat arches, your shoes need to be designed to accommodate the structural differences. You can purchase or custom order special orthotic inserts to make your footwear support your feet even better.
Comfort
Even if you have met all of the above requirements, if you don’t have comfortable nursing shoes, they are still useless. Even though your chances are good that the right support and fit will be comfortable, it is still possible for such a shoe to be inadequately cushioned or inflexible. Keep in mind that a shoe that feels ok when you try it on could feel like a torture chamber after a few hours of continuous standing. The shoes shouldn’t ever have to be broken in but should feel immediately fabulous.
Should male nurses wear clogs?
If you’re a male nurse then most likely you can wear any footwear that is comfortable, especially clogs. It’s worth noting that flats are preferable to shoes with high heels.
Male nurses have been working in the hospital system for a long time now and many feel clogs provide them more comfort during long shifts which is great news because it means less discomfort off the clock as well. Nurses all over the United States who work 12-hour shifts or longer often prefer wearing clogs because they use their feet extensively throughout their day from walking, standing up, sitting down again and repeating this pattern without breaks enough times to make any shoe worn during these movements hurt without fail. Change shoes every 3 hours is a good rule of thumb.
What are the differences between male vs female nursing shoes?
Men’s nurse shoes will have a more durable sole and are made to be worn for longer periods, while women’s nurse shoes are typically more stylish with a lighter-weight sole. Female nurse shoes tend to give you less support/ protection so they’re better suited for nurses who are exclusively on their feet or who spend most of their shift in mobile postures.
The type of usage usually determines the material used in the construction. A shoe suitable for long shifts should have a more durable rubber soling that provides better traction, less bend from wear (so it doesn’t distort), and can stand up to chemicals like sanitizer whereas a lightweight shoe is better suited for nurses spending much of their time on the go or standing.
Should you wear female nursing shoes as a male nurse?
Yes, you are not limited to only wearing mens shoes. There are a lot of styles and brands that even come with your favorite team or character on the shoe! Generally speaking, the female nurse sneakers will be more narrow and just for women, but you can find many styles in both genders.
It doesn’t matter what gender’s shoes you wear as long as they’re comfortable and practical, which is why every job in any profession needs to have access to footwear that will work for everyone. For example, nurses often need sneakers or clogs in order to be on their feet all day long. Although this question originally centered on male nurses, female nurses also like the extra comfort of flats or MAFS-style nursing shoes. If you’re a male nurse and are looking for some sturdy but stylish men’s nurse dress shoes then take a look at our Men’s Nurse shoe collection! So if you’ve been told no before from past employers because of your gender, fear not! There are plenty more.
Choosing the Right Shoe Style as a Nurse
In your quest for nursing shoes, you’ll realize there are some styles to choose from. Although nursing shoes are a bit more limited because of practical reasons, there are some basic styles that are repeatedly found in nursing shoes which include clogs, Oxfords, sneakers, and slip-ons.
Clogs
Clogs are popular shoes for nursing since they are comfortable and lack laces, even though your foot can slip out of the back or off the heel, leading to a sprain, ankle twist, strain, or foot injury.
Some clogs, however, have ankle straps, so these are much more preferable to the completely open-back types. Rubber and plastic clogs give the best in comfort and are easy to clean, but many clinics and hospitals have banned footwear due to safety reasons.
The original style of these shoes with holes is seen as a potential hazard, leaving the top of your foot vulnerable to dropped contaminants, needles, acids, and other dangers. You can now find these types of shoe without the perforations on top, so check to see if your employer allows them.
Oxfords
These lace-up shoes are the traditional nursing show, but some laces of low quality can come untied and pose a big trip hazard. Shoelaces can also get caught up on equipment and causes crashes which could be very dangerous. Tie-on shoes, however, do fit well and stay on your foot, plus they look professional. You can easily change out shoelaces that have become dirty.
Sneakers
It used to be that sneakers were thought to be inappropriate and unprofessional for nurses and nursing assistants, however, the shift in footwear happened about the time when dress uniforms gave way to the scrub outfits of today. Sneakers which are all-white are easily found, and athletic footwear is made to give lasting comfort and support for active people. With this in mind, sneakers worn for the healthcare profession need to be of top quality and not canvas tennis shoes or brands which are inexpensive.
Slip-ons
These types of nursing shoes are many times confused with clogs, however, step-in or slip-on shoe has a solid back which will cover your heel. These types of shoes combine the smoothness and comfort of clogs with the security of a full-foot shoe. Some of these shoes, even look a lot like sneakers with no laces.
Finding the best shoes whether for a male or a female nurse is highly important if you are in these strenuous and busy professionals. Therefore you need to know exactly what to look for to make sure you get a shoe that fits right and is comfortable, along with having convenient features to make your life easier.
There are a variety of options when it comes to nursing shoes for men. It can be hard to find the right pair because there is such a wide range in sizing and styles available. I hope this list has been helpful, but if you still have questions about your specific needs please feel free to contact us! We would love to help out as best we can.