The Days When I'm Not a Nurse

Nurses Week Day 7: Dansko Shoe Giveaway & Florence’s Birthday!

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They last day of Nurses Week!
It’s kind of strange that Monday would be the last day of a week, but it is what it is. I suppose it’s because they always try and have the last day fall on Florence’s birthday. :)

Nurses Week Day 7

Dankso is giving away a pair of shoes to one of my readers for Nurses Week! They asked me to select a pair to review and I chose their Sam shoes. I think whoever wins this giveaway is really going to like them. I know, because I’ve basically been wearing them non-stop the last couple weeks.

They’ve been worn shopping, to work meetings, date night…I love how versatile they are. Like all Dansko’s, they have the same foot support and comfort you’d find in their basic clogs. The tan color has really grown on me but they also come in black and brown. I haven’t had any ankle-rolling situations like some people do with narrow Danskos, these have a nice wide support.
Another plus: these shoes will be perfect to bike in! 
To enter into the giveaway, tell me how you celebrated Nurses Week. 
And to be fair, I should tell you how I celebrated mine. Our hospital gave out cafeteria gift cards  for a free meal, they also gave out a treat card (you could get a cookie or brownie or a piece of fruit), one of our PAs bought the nurses pizza one day, there was donuts from a long term care facility, ice cream and cake from the hospital… I’ve been a little spoiled this week! My favorite was probably the ugly scrub day (pictures here). Nothing like looking hideous to help you bond with your co-workers! Plus, I lucked out and cared for a sedated/ventilated patient who was asleep all day and couldn’t see the awful scrubs. :) 
Thanks to Dansko for my grand finale of Nurses Week! You all have until Friday to enter, winner will be chosen Saturday! The plan is to give away either the same pair of shoes I chose, but they are flexible and can change them out to something else, ESPECIALLY if a murse wins. 😉

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Nurses Week Promotion from Dansko!

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Nurses Week is an event that I recognize on my blog annually. 

It’s kind of a big deal.
Capitol City Speakers Bureau National Nurses Week Speakers
Nurses week is always May 6-12. It begins on National Nurses Day (May 6) and ends on Florence Nightingale’s birthday (May 12). (Here are my nurse week posts from 2012 and 2013.)
For 2014, I’ve got big plans. It includes daily nursing related posts with daily nursing related giveaways. Things you’ll like, I promise. :) 
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In the meantime, Dansko is getting ready to celebrate Nurses week by having an amazing contest! 
Go to Dansko’s website and share with them WHY you celebrate Nurses Week and you could win a Dansko Appreciate Event for yourself and up to nine co-workers! Five teams of ten winners will each win a lunch and shoes! This promotion is currently running now through April 28th and the winners will be announced April 30th. 
What an amazing opportunity! Your co-workers will love you if you win. :) 

A post in which 2 nurses co-review Dansko’s Shayla Shoes.

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Have I mentioned lately how much I love Dansko? 
Oh, I have? 
Well, humor me as I talk about them again. :)
I have LOVED the opportunities they’ve given me to review their products on my little blog here (like their clogs, their shoes, and their scrubs), but this most recent review has been the best because I was able to involve a co-worker! 
Everybody, meet Kellie. 
She’s a tall, spunky newlywed who loves reeses, bacon cheeseburgers, and her 2 dogs. She also loves Dansko, and it shows. Her trusty orange clogs are starting to fall apart at the crease on the top of the shoe. We actually had a conversation about upgrading shoes a few weeks before Dansko e-mailed me with the news that a co-worker and I could try their new shoes! Fate, I tell you. 
Side note: These pictures were taken on Black Friday, hence the matching black scrubs. Knowing how superstitious nurses are, we should have NEVER made plans for all the staff to wear black. After a whole day multiple codes (on the same patient), I’m pretty sure we won’t be doing a blackout again.
The Shayla shoes are the latest from Dansko’s active collection, Santa Fe.  It has the feel of a clog but the look of a sneaker, if you can imagine that. 
It came with an extra pair of laces! I’m actually thrilled about this- I go through laces so quickly on my roller skates.
Kellie noticed that these shoes almost change color depending on what scrubs you wear them with. If you wear blue, they look blue. If you wear purple, they actually look purplish! Someday, Mood Shoes will be invented, but in the meantime, these will do. :) Speaking of colors, these shoes come in all sorts of color combos:

I’m so glad I’m not in nursing school anymore where it was required to wear plain white shoes. :)

So. On to the review.
Overall, we really like them! It only took me about 2 shifts to feel totally comfortable in them, so very little break-in time. They have the same arch support of the traditional clog but the wide surface of your average athletic shoe. No ankle rolling for us! They feel lighter on the feet than the clogs do. They are slip resistant (it felt like suction cups the first time I walked on a slick surface) so that should come in handy as the parking lot starts to ice over this winter.
The one downside is the fact that they aren’t easily sanitized. These sneakers are made of fabric and you can’t use sanitizing wipes on them like you can with the clogs. But they DO use a stain resistant leather that you just wipe with a damp cloth to clean.

The fact that they are multi-purpose and could be worn to work or for athletic purposes is pretty awesome. For example, I imagine these might be pretty comfortable to walk around in while visiting Disneyland next year. :) It’ll be my first time going (Disney virgin?) and I’m excited!
Once again, Dansko, thank you for a stellar product!

** Check out my Comfortable Shoes for Nurses guest post over at Barking Dog shoes (a website devoted to finding stylish AND comfortable shoes for women).