We were in and out of burnout for years before finally doing something about it.
That’s how Sara and Stacy describe their nursing journey.
The ethical nightmare that became their first and last travel nursing assignment turned into a 6-month sabbatical, traveling the world and living out dreams in a way that, for the first time ever, didn’t feel temporary.
And when they came back?
Everything had changed.
Who They Are Today
Today, Sara and Stacy run Well and Whole Creative together. They’re nurse coaches that used to focus exclusively on mindset coaching, but they’ve found joy in the creative activities that they had to learn for marketing their business, like content creation, that they decided to help nurse entrepreneurs in this way, too.
Their business gets to be something they look forward to—not the 5 am alarm or the on-call shifts. They’ve truly learned to prioritize their wellbeing, knowing that makes everything else better.
And their client results proved it: nurses working with them have reduced their work hours, finally used PTO hours for vaction from an overflowing 200 hours banked, and completely transformed how they show up in their lives.
But it wasn’t always this way.
Their Backstory
Sara and Stacy grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and nursing wasn’t exactly the dream.
“After a few pivots in college, we first became surgical technologists before ultimately going into nursing school,” they share.
The experience was full of ups and downs—like so many others. But what made things different was that they did it together, and their vision was clear.
“We were going to work in the OR and that was that! In spite of all the well-intentioned people who told us that we would lose all of our skills and not be ‘real nurses,’ we persisted.”
And they loved it. For a long time.
The Struggle
Here’s the thing about burnout– you can be in denial about it for years.
“Healing from burnout on more than one occasion… We thought that once we quit the hospital, everything would be roses, and that wasn’t exactly true,” they explain.
They faced stress and burnout in their own business too. They weren’t prepared for it. The pressure was different but still there. The perfection they demanded from themselves was suffocating.
“We didn’t know what we know now, that so many nurses go through a difficult journey when leaving bedside that hardly anyone talks about.”
Once they got distance from it, they began to see the patterns. The overwhelm. Every task as urgent. Not taking breaks. The demanding perfection from themselves at all times.
“We’ve been able to use the tools we teach our clients on ourselves on a regular basis, as well as being recipients of coaching and having the support we needed to untangle all of these things.”
The Turning Point
The sabbatical changed everything.
After years of craving change and rapidly outgrowing the place they had loved for so long, they made a decision: “We wanted to work for ourselves because we wanted that time and location freedom so badly. And we basically never looked back.”
But the real turning point came earlier, back when they first started searching for something different outside the OR. They stumbled upon something called Nurse Coaching. They did their homework on transformative communication, active listening, emotional regulation, motivational interviewing, marketing on social media, networking, sales psychology.
“In the process, we ourselves were transformed inside and out. It was the biggest and best mental and mindset upgrade we’ve ever had.”That transformation became the catalyst for everything. Because here’s what they learned: if you want things to be different, you need to think differently and take different action. You need to understand yourself– your brain, your emotions, yourself in ways nursing school never taught you.
The Strategy
Their approach centers on one core truth: mindset work changes everything.
“We credit mindset work with changing everything for us,” they say. “We think big and we dream instead of living the same day on repeat and living for the weekends.”
They built their business around skills most nurses have never heard of—mindset coaching, basic applied neuroscience, transformative communication. They took risks together: working part-time while growing the business, investing time, money, and energy into themselves and their skills.
And the habits? They had to change those too.
“Assuming the worst, complaining in the lounge, generally being negative, ‘unwinding’ or ‘destressing’ by binge-watching Netflix and doomscrolling… instead—expecting the best, shifting our mindset and energy towards positivity and self-acceptance, incorporating breath work, restorative movement, journaling exercise, and creative hobbies to truly take care of our wellbeing.”
The Results
The results speak for themselves—professionally, but mostly personally.
Their clients have had major transformations. Wellbeing and full enjoyment of life outside of work are now their biggest priorities. But as nurses working in their own businesses, they can get in their own way too. “So seeing our clients overcome so many mental blocks, imposter syndrome, fears, and no longer being held back by their inner critic has absolutely proven the value of this work time and time again.”
And personally? “Our lives are completely different. We think big and we dream instead of living the same day on repeat.” Their business gets to be something they look forward to, and they have truly learned to prioritize their wellbeing.
Stacy ended up getting married and moving to France. Sara took a 6 month sabbatical and traveled around New Zealand, Australia, and Bali.
“Everything is different and bigger, and better in the best way possible.”
The Wisdom
When asked what they’d tell another nurse wanting to build a business, Sara and Stacy don’t hesitate.
“Start working on your self-development, self-awareness, and self-acceptance. Changing the way you think is everything. Get out of your day-to-day and your head. Go on vacation. Take some time for actual fun. Be around people who are doing life differently than you and get inspired.”
Find out what you actually like doing. And then see if you need or want to get some aligned training or education.
It’s advice that reflects everything they’ve built together—not hustle harder, but think differently. Not grind more, but understand yourself better. Not sacrifice more, but design something that actually fits your life.
What’s Next
Sara and Stacy are happily practicing what they preach.
They’re prioritizing their wellbeing and enjoying working with their clients. And, they’ve found fulfillment in an aspect that some nurses struggle with–marketing and content creation.
It’s become one of their favorite creative outlets, a way to help nurse entrepreneurs who truly understand the deeper things like perfectionism, imposter syndrome, and fear of being seen.
Want to learn more about Sara and Stacy’s work? Visit their website at Well and Whole Creative or on Instagram.
