Nurses do not live by nursing alone. Actually that is not true. There are a lot of nurses that bury themselves in their work and do nothing but work. They work double shifts and on their days off and sometimes work two jobs. They obviously have no time for a social life.
How do they do it and is it healthy? Many times they get positive affirmation for doing this from coworkers and family. In reality, though, this is not healthy. First of all they must be exhausted and can’t be at their best when they do this constantly. It probably isn’t even safe for the patient or for the nurse.
No one is and Island. I’m sure that everyone has heard this saying. It’s true, though. We all need other people. This includes nurses. As has been stated before, nurses tend to not trust each other, so whatever relationship the nurse has with a co-worker is probably superficial and not one where she pours her heart out. Nurses need someone that she can talk to when she leaves the hospital and especially when she has a stressful day. She needs a friend.
This is not the only reason for having a friend outside of work. Nurses need to have fun, too. She needs someone that she can laugh with and have fun with. She needs a life outside of the hospital. She needs someone to go shopping with, to go out with at night, to travel with, to have fun with. This is a part of life. Nurses need this, too. If she works all of the time she misses out on this. She has no outlet. She needs another life.
A nurse needs hobbies and activities that she enjoys when she is not working. Some of them may be solitary, such as reading or needlework, but she needs things that she can do with other people as well. Social interaction and support are vital in a nurse’s life.