Healing the healers: A multifaceted mental health retreat for nurses to improve self-care

Self-care behaviors can preserve nurses’ well-being, protecting against burnout and attrition. By promoting self-care practices, organizations can reduce burnout while supporting the long-term sustainability of the workforce. Healing the Healers was a retreat designed with interdisciplinary, academic-practice, and community partnerships using evidence-based methods to improve nurse wellness. The purpose of this study was to evaluate this therapeutic retreat for nurses to increase wellness, self-care, and job retention. This study used a pretest/ posttest mixed methods design with 90 nurses across two hospital systems. Attendees included bedside nurses, nurse managers, and nurse educators. Self-care, anxiety, burnout, and intention to leave the profession were measured before and 6 months after the retreat. Qualitative data from open-ended survey questions examined experiences and perceptions using a thematic analysis. Burnout and anxiety decreased following the retreat but were not statistically significant, while self-care scores significantly improved ( p = .009). At six months, 100 % of participants remained employed with the same organization, and the intent to leave the profession declined though not significantly. Differences by role revealed that educators reported lower baseline anxiety, while bedside nurses demonstrated the greatest improvements in burnout and self-care. Qualitative analysis identified four themes: renewed recommitment to self-care, role modeling wellness for others, appreciation for restorative activities, and desire for interactive, kinesthetic learning. Interventions such as Healing the Healers retreat can cost-effectively promote self-care for nurses as an institutional prevention strategy.