Eventually, I found my way to hospice care, and I fell in love with the work. It brought so much meaning to my life—but let’s be honest, it was both emotionally and physically draining. Just six weeks in, I came down with a nasty cold or flu that kept me out of work for a week. My co-workers joked that getting sick early on was an “initiation” for new hospice nurses. They weren’t wrong—it was a reminder of how much this work can take out of you if you aren’t careful.

As a single mom with two young boys in elementary school, life was a constant balancing act. But one thing I’ll always be thankful for was the face-to-face time with my team. Back then, we didn’t have laptops, so those morning debriefs became a sacred space to share difficult cases, swap stories, and build connections that kept us going.

A couple years before I began my work in hospice, I completed a year-long training in integrative imagery, a healing practice rooted in psychoneuroimmunology—the way our mind and body influence each other. This work profoundly impacted my approach to nursing, as well as teaching me the power of self-care and connection. Inspired, and wanting to help my colleagues deal with the stress of hospice, I began hosting monthly nurse dinners and eventually with other nurses, organized retreats with nurse colleagues to give nurses a space to recharge and reconnect to themselves and each other.