Why I Started NurseReviews

Twenty-five years ago, a senior colleague looked at my brand-new white sneakers on my first day and said, "Those will hurt by Thursday." She was right. It was Wednesday, actually.

Since then I've spent a small fortune figuring out, by trial and error, what actually helps a body survive this work — shoes, socks, insoles, creams, sleep gear, all of it.

Somewhere along the way, colleagues started asking me what to buy. Then their friends did. Then new hires I'd never met were being told to "ask Emma about shoes." Writing it all down properly just made sense.

What this site is

The reviews I wish someone had handed me on day one. Every product here is tested through real shifts — weeks of actual wear, actual washing, actual twelve-hour days on hard floors.

How I decide what to test

• The break room decides: most tests start because colleagues keep asking about something, or keep complaining about something.
• One category at a time, properly: weeks per product, one variable changed at a time, notes taken like the nurse I am.
• The misses get published: roughly half of what I test never gets recommended. Those verdicts stay in the reviews.

The honest part about money

Some links here earn a small commission, which keeps the site running. It never decides a verdict — my name is on every review, and I have to face my colleagues in the break room. Nurses talk. If I recommended something bad, I would hear about it by Thursday. Probably Wednesday, actually.

Thanks for reading. Now go put your feet up — you've earned it.

— Emma