A Nurse Coach’s Journey From 70-Hour Weeks in Hospital Management to International Retreats

5,249Nurse Coaches Trained

For many nurses, burnout feels like something the healthcare system did to them. But what if part of the story is happening inside us, too?

In this episode, Heather reconnects with board-certified Nurse Coach Sally Davidson for a deeper conversation about burnout in nursing, conscious leadership, and what actually has to change for healthcare to move forward.

Sally once worked as a director of nursing in critical care, where she put in long hours and carried immense responsibility. But at one point, it became clear she was “not growing, just working.” She believed the system was the problem. And in many ways, it was.

But over time, she began to see something else.

Even after leaving the hospital, the same hustle patterns followed her. The overachieving. The fixing. The need to prove herself. She realized her old “operating system” was still running the way she lived and worked.

Through Nurse Coach training, breathwork, somatic work, and deep self-reflection, she started to understand her nervous system, and see how her own patterns were shaping the way she led. 

And the more she saw that, the more her idea of leadership changed. For her, conscious leadership became less about jumping in and fixing everything… and more about staying open, getting curious, and actually listening before reacting.

Today, she runs masterminds, one-on-one immersions, and international retreats in places like Costa Rica and Peru. She’s intentional about creating spaces that feel genuinely safe, not performative, so leaders can grow at a pace that actually feels sustainable and true to who they are.

Last time, Heather and Sally just scratched the surface. This time, they go deeper into the missing connection in healthcare culture, the anger nurses feel toward the system, and how meaningful change begins with individual awareness.

🎧 If you’ve ever wondered why burnout followed you even after you left the hospital, this conversation goes there. Tune in.