If you've recently become registered as a nurse, congratulations! You are joining the ranks of men and women who choose to make a difference every day in the lives of the patients they care for, and to pursue a fulfilling career with many opportunities for advancement. However, working as a nurse can be challenge, especially at first, when it comes to having a social life. Here are some tips for balancing your social life with your work demands so you can have the best of both worlds.

Expect for Work to Come First Sometimes
If your nursing job is your first real work position out of school, it may be a bit of shock to learn how often your social life has to take a back seat. Instead of letting this be a huge letdown, consider it one of the natural aspects of pursuing a career instead of just having a job.
As a new nurse, you'll likely be at the bottom of the seniority ladder, so you may draw some of the least desirable shifts. Having to be at the hospital at 6:00 a.m., or stay until past midnight can put a serious crimp in your social activities. You may even have to work mandatory double shifts on short notice, or carry a pager if you work in an environment like a cardiac catheter laboratory. The latter instance means you can go out, but you may have to leave suddenly for an emergency, and won’t be allowed to consume any alcohol.
Once your shift begins, you may not always be able to clock out on the dot of the hour as if you were working at a grocery store. You'll need to stay and brief physicians and other nursing staff on the disposition of your patients, or wait until the last person has been seen when the doctor is running late. Of course, if you're in the middle of a code blue or similar emergency, you will need to remain at work until it is resolved.

Don't be surprised to Outgrow Some of Your Social Circle
While all of the above can sound daunting, you may actually enjoy being such an important part of your workplace. You may find yourself not noticing when you put in extra time, because you like the work so much. Likewise, you may request extra hours at work to gain additional certifications or to work with a mentor. This is, after all, your chosen profession and not just a job you took to pay the bills.
Be ready to take some guff from your friends if this happens. They may still be in school or working grunt jobs for the money, and not understand your desire to find satisfaction or get ahead in nursing.
At this point, you may find you see less and less of your old social crowd, especially if they are still hitting the bars every night and sleeping until noon. This is a normal part of life, both for new college graduates and adults who have been in the work force for a while. Don't worry, you'll soon find other friends who you have more in common with. If your current circle is resentful of your new mates, it could be a sign that a natural parting of ways is imminent.

Know when and how to Leave Work Behind
As wonderful as your nursing career may be, there are times when you need to leave it behind. Your friends and family may not want to hear every blow-by-blow detail of your patient's catheter insertion, any more than you want to know about the fine details of a custom floor tile installation or mortgage refinancing.
Keeping work at work is also healthy if you practice in a high-stress area of nursing, such as emergency care or psychiatry. A skill that all medical professionals need to learn is how to compartmentalize emotionally draining experiences at work, so they don't affect home life in a negative way. Some ways to do this include:
•       Physically leave all signs of work behind: toss scrubs in the laundry, take a bath, and change your clothing once you get home.
•       Work out after leaving the hospital or clinic.
•       Practice yoga, tai chi, or meditation regularly.
•       Don't check work emails when you are not required to.
•       Let non-emergency work-related calls go to voicemail.
•       Participate in CISDs, or critical incident stress debriefings, after extremely traumatic cases.

Taking time off work is actually beneficial for your patients in the long run because it refreshes and recharges you for the future, and keeps you from getting burned out. If the fine art of leaving work behind was not taught in your nursing curriculum, consider finding an online doctor of nursing practice school that offers continuing education.

Working as a nurse is a rewarding and exciting career. If you think ahead of time about how to balance your work and social life, you'll enjoy both much more and be able to weather a lifelong career as a nurse.