Social Life Concerns

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jun 14, 2015

We manage our lives just like people who work in any other profession. EVERY profession requires you to put in time and effort to further your career, reach personal goals.

That said, I've yet to meet a nurse who had to sacrifice dates, parties, family events, marriage, births...BECAUSE of the job.

You WILL need to make accommodations; you cannot always attend every event, every party, because you will have a JOB. That's life, though, LOL....school days are over! :)

Christmas is sometimes celebrated the day before or day after. You will sometimes need to be sleeping when others are at a picnic, because you are working nights. You will sometimes need to schedule social time with friends on your second or third choice dates, because your first choice is already on the work schedule.

Hoping this doesn't come out sanctimonious, or like I'm schoolin' you, but....part of being a grown up with a grown up career is adjusting when and how we experience life outside of work. Perfectly manageable, but also perfectly expected if you want to be a professional anything :)

EmBSNStudent · Jun 14, 2015

Thank you! Your opinion is so refreshing to read and has given me hope.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2015

One day I'd eventually like to get married,have kids and have fun with my friends ya know?

I think the article mildly exaggerated the life of a nurse for the sake of sensationalism and juicier click bait. Personally, I have plenty of time to eat, use the restroom, and sit while I am at work. Then again, my time management is better than many nurses with whom I've been acquainted over the years.

Death doesn't bother me the way it apparently disturbs the author of that piece. I've never cried over a medication error like the author apparently has because my conscience is not that active. Moreover, my coworkers do not feel like family to me. While I enjoy some of my coworkers, there are others whom I'd be happy to never see again.

The majority of nurses are married and/or have partners. And in my opinion, any nurse who does not have a social life has reached that situation either because (s)he didn't make it a priority or may lack basic social skills.

cayenne06, MSN, CNM · Jun 14, 2015

I agree with previous posters! I am able to maintain a decent work/life balance (at least, when i am not juggling school AND work!). In fact, the shift nature of most nursing jobs allows for a great amount of flexibility when you are caring for young children.

pixiestudent2 · Jun 14, 2015

I think that's crap. I feel like I have wayyyyy more time working 3 12s.

And if you know you have an event coming up, like a party or a wedding, you can usually schedule around that.

Krazziekid78 · Jun 14, 2015

I actually just shared that article on my Facebook this morning. Too funny. I graduated with my BSN in August and have been working as a rehab nurse since January. This article is spot on as it totally shares a lot of the struggles nurses face. I really have found that the best way to have a life is to learn to say no. It's so easy to agree to pick up shifts, but you have to take time off to let yourself re cooperate. Those 12 hour shifts you put in are tiring and demanding- and putting in more than 3 can be rough (don't ever work 5 12s in a row bty). You need those extra days to recover and have YOU time. The key is finding a balance. Nursing is such a heart-wrenching job that sometimes it's hard not to bring your work home with you. But with more practice , it will get easier.

ArtClassRN, ADN, RN · Jun 14, 2015

One day I'd eventually like to get married,have kids and have fun with my friends ya know?
Thank you!
Mildly concerned nursing student

Judging just from the umpteen coworker wedding and baby showers I have attended (I pick up cute onesies on clearance now to make sure I always have some around), it appears that nurses have no trouble with the married and kids part.

If you want to have fun with your friends, skip the marriage and kids thing. My facebook feed is silly with single nurses having fun with their friends.

RNNPICU, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2015

The article does highlight many of the issues working at the bedside can have. If you are working in a hospital at the bedside many hospitals have weekend commitments, holiday commitments. You may not be able to attend every family event. Friends will have to understand that you won't always be able to go out on a Friday happy hour because wither you are working, or you get off too late to meet up in time.

It is not impossible to have a life outside work, it just requires a bit of juggling. Each week you likely will have different days off. If you have friends who have a M-F job with business hours, you may not always make meet-ups.

Work is not school, there are not summer or winter weeks off.

It is possible to be married and work as a nurse. When I was first married I was working all nights 7pm-7am. My husband had a 7:30am-4:00pm job. There would be times when I would be leaving for work as he was coming home. I did my weekends, holidays. Christmas was the hardest since I usually worked Christmas. I like to go to church for CHristmas, it just took a little work but made it work.

Once you get a routine, have an idea of your weekends, weekday shifts, you can plan. You typically have a schedule 6-8 weeks in advance so you can plan for parties, trips, dinners out, etc

Farawyn · Jun 14, 2015

The upshot of this is, if you want to get OUT of something, using "I have to work that weekend" is an amazing excuse.

Jules A, MSN · Jun 15, 2015

The upshot of this is, if you want to get OUT of something, using "I have to work that weekend" is an amazing excuse.

Have used this one for years!!

flyersfan88 · Jun 15, 2015

Working 3 12's....you have more days off in a month than you actually work. If you can't manage some sort of contact with the outside world with that schedule, you need serious help.