To plan on getting quite drunk at my work Christmas party?

I agree, when you work unsocial hours in a demanding job ,often the only people who are off at the same time as you to socislisecl are colleagues ,also they are the only people who understand the demands of the job.

Totally in agreement with the posters who’ve said words to the effect of how to say you’ve never been out with a bunch of nurses….

I qualified 20 years ago and we had A LOT of parties. They were epic. And yes, SHRIEK, people, including our then matron, used to get hammered. I remember one memorable night when she had a dance off with a consultant and a student nurse. We’re a large but close knit team working in a very high pressured department. We have a surprisingly low staff turnover rate for a London hospital.

@Anon00 - I’m not condoning risky behaviour or getting totally pissed but have fun!

As above, NHS staff party harder than the norm, and don't get me started on Mess parties 🥳
Higher bands are also no better than lower bands in their behaviour!

@OohRains probably worse in my experience! 😆😆

Why do you need to get really drunk? Like I don't understand?

It's absolutely fair to want a release from the stress of the day to day job of nursing, I don't think most people on here realise that you can have a 21/22yo in charge of a ward of 25+ patients making decisions etc under pressure. It's certainly straight into the deep end if you are ward nursing.

I'd get very merry OP but not slaughtered.
Ignore the thimble of wine crew on here ffs.

Ah the mess parties fond memories 🤣

Seen a few 8's face down in the gutter as drunk++ 🤣

The ED Christmas Party is a 12 stop pub crawl this year!

You've gotta go into these things with a plan. The aim is jovial, fun and chatty without being slaughtered and embarrassing. At my recent works do I had a decent meal before going out, drank a whole litre of water, then chose one drink and stuck to that for the night (reasonably low percentage lager). Consider taking cash with you rather than a card so you can't overspend on tons of drinks. Don't mix drinks. Alternate with a few waters. Leave when everyone is on a high and feeling good, before any drunken dramas start.

Oh my God, @OohRains I’m not sure I’d even survive an ED Christmas party! I had to nip down there the other day and it’s wild. I think the new national uniform people should have put ED staff in camo….

Exactly i qualified as an RMN at 22 i was in charge of acute mental health ward straight in at the deep end.

Why would you want to poison yourself with so much alcohol? Just because it's legal ...doesn't mean it's good for you.

As someone with a fair amount of experience in office parties the best advice I can give is just don't be the most drunk there. Everyone always remembers that person but not so much the others.

Do people (who aren't dating each other) snog at work parties

Yes and much more ime.

Westlake v ZSL London Zoo and Bellman v Northampton Recruitment are two examples of how pear-shaped things can go when things get out of hand at works Christmas dos.

This thread is hilarious 😂

Have a great time OP! 💃Remember to really savour that one small drink...

Then straight onto a club at the end until closing, ED nights out are not for the faint hearted

I have been a nurse for about 25 years. Now I'm in my 40s I don't get drunk (I don't drink at all) but when I was on the wards and early community jobs I would get drunk on nights out as would many, many of my colleagues. No one ever cared.

Working on a ward is so different to other jobs, it's hard to understand when in an office job. You go through a lot together and there's something about spending nights, weekends etc with folk on such a regular basis.

If you want to drink, the drink. Many others will be. Obviously try not to be the most drunk and do daft things but the culture in nursing is definitely work hard- play hard.

Indeed! I know a few marriages that went down the pan after Christmas party goings on got back to the other half.

OP. It's your choice, but it's not obligatory to get trollied.

@OohRains @xigris I'm about to start a new job in a&e. Looking forward to the ride!

I've got shitfaced at plenty of work parties and never regretted it. But I wasn't ever 'the worst', never did anything truly embarrassing.

Now I'm too old I kinda miss it. Going with the intention of getting drunk is fine, that was my modus operandi all through my 20s, because I enjoyed it.

I guess I'd just take my clues from others as the one thing I would advise is don't assume everyone is the same level as you - often there's a range at these things and it's really easy to think everyone is as drunk as you are.

Yaaaas, it's the best, fast turnovers (or not quite so fast due to waiting for inpatient beds) just make sense to those ADHD brains!

Definitely get hammered. You only live once after all and we all deserve some fun.

It's a bonding experience too. You can nurse your hangovers together.