What kind of place are you going to go? I think it would be good to go to a place that has a good reputation, but I think heavily crowded clubs where you can be easily distracted and where there's lot of young partiers predatory people might want to target can be sometimes dangerous too. I'd suggest some maybe smaller place, where there isn't too many people but which is "popular" enough in sense that it most likely has a good reputation and there's no shady bartenders.

And this time too is important to never let your drink unattended, and if someone offers you a drink only accept it if you have seen it being made and can have it straight from the bartender. Actually it's good to accept only drinks you have seen being made, so because of this too it's good idea to go to some not-so-crowded place where there isn't too many people at the bar and they won't distract you from keeping an eye to the bartender.

Also preventing from being sick from drinking in general, if you drink rarely then it's good idea to keep your drinking in minimum and not drinking heavy stuff (like anything with 30%-50% alcohol) because your body most likely isn't used to lots of amounts of strong alcohol. And you can have a glass of water between the alcoholic drinks to prevent the hang over. And it's a good idea to have a good dinner the day you're drinking, because alcohol can irritate empty stomach. You can have something little to snack while drinking too, because the food in your tummy prevents you becoming too drunk and it slows the process.

I don't know if you're a smoker, but smoking while drinking can make you feel ill easily and it might cause you a hangover. So if you smoke I'd suggest you to keep it to a minimum.

If you're feeling hangoversih, have something cold to drink, just plain water is fine too but I've liked to drink coca-cola when I've had a hang over. Popcicles and ice cream have helped me before too. Eating something too helps.

But most of all, remember to have fun. Even though it's good to stay on guard don't be too scared, and enjoy your night.