The story of
how Rekindled Nurse was created.
Rekindled Nurse was born out of burnout, isolation, and the quiet question too many nurses have whispered to themselves:
“Am I the only one feeling this way?”
We’re here to say—you’re not.
This work began with one nurse who hit her breaking point and found healing through community.
Now, it’s a movement to make sure every nurse knows they’re not alone in the hard, and they don’t have to keep surviving in silence.
How it started
Rekindled Nurse was born from a moment many of us know too well—when the work we once loved starts to feel heavy, isolating, and impossible to carry alone.
Courtney Kindrew, BSN, RN, founded Rekindled Nurse in the winter of 2021, but the heartbeat of this work began long before that. At the start of her nursing career, things looked good on paper. She was proud to be a nurse and ready to serve. But it wasn’t long before the quiet, creeping weight of burnout set in—bringing anxiety, self-doubt, and the painful fear that maybe she had chosen the wrong path.
Though she tried to manage it privately, the exhaustion began to spill into every part of her life—her marriage, friendships, and the job she once felt called to.
That’s when everything changed.
Courtney found a nurse mentorship program that gave her tools, language, and support to move through the burnout instead of around it. She was surrounded by people who got it—who reminded her of who she was beneath the fatigue and fear.
“And friend, it changed my life”
— Courtney Kindrew, BSN, RN, Founder of Rekindled Nurse
Rekindled Nurse was born.
What followed was not only healing—but a fire to make sure no other nurse had to walk through the hard alone.
Alongside her coworkers, Courtney planned what would become the very first Rekindled Nurse Conference—just for her coworkers. It was a day filled with rest, laughter, honesty, and heart care. She didn’t know exactly what would come next—but by the end of that day, she knew this mattered.
The response was clear: nurses are hungry for spaces to feel seen, supported, and human again. And so Rekindled Nurse grew—from a single conference to a movement.
What We’re About
Rekindled Nurse exists to care for the heart behind the badge.
We create space for nurses to gather, exhale, and remember who they are—through conferences, monthly workshops, monthly peer groups, community events, crisis support, outreach support, and storytelling that’s real, raw, and full of hope.
Because we believe this with everything in us:
You were never meant to do this alone. Thank you for being here.
