There's a lot that's different about the UVA School of Nursing experience:

its stunning Grounds, proximity to a vast array of powerful clinical experiences at UVA Health, its community of warmth, inclusivity, and its sense of belonging.

And for the last 16 years, the Compassionate Care Initiative (CCI) has made the School distinctive, too. Among CCI’s many offerings are its nursing student retreats, which aim to link the skills of mindfulness and self-compassion to sustained compassionate care for others. Through half- and full-day retreats, many of them held at UVA’s 2,000-acre Morven Farms, CCI facilitators create space for students to learn and practice trainable skills of well-being, lead honest conversations about the profession’s challenges, and teach how self-care is inextricably tethered to excellence in nursing practice. The work also provides the foundation for the School’s strategic plan Goal 4: cultivating trust and equity in everything we do.

Retreats begin with an introduction of four guidelines: Show up. Pay attention. Tell the truth. Be open to the outcome. Facilitators introduce practices that decrease overwhelm and distraction and increase mind and body awareness. They lead students through contemplative practices—mindful movement, meditation, and yoga. Students take part in reflective writing and intentional listening exercises, connect with nature, create art, and even consider mindful eating. Each retreat ends with planning ways to integrate mindful micro-moments throughout a day. “Everyone,” said one fourth-year BSN student, “was more relaxed than I’d ever seen them.” Said another master’s student of the retreat, “Made me feel better about going into healthcare.”

So what impact do these experiences have?

In a 2021 study published in the Western Journal of Nursing Research, CCI researchers found that clinicians exposed to stress who practiced mindfulness toggled more readily between their brains’ sympathetic (“fight or flight”) and parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) nervous systems, implying an improved ability to cope with stress. Another 2021 study published in the Journal of Nursing Administration found that the mean anxiety scores of 106 clinicians who took part in CCI-led retreats declined by 33% percent immediately after. Emphasizing the importance of introducing mindful self-care and compassion skills in their training, giving students’ applicable tools to carry with them into practice.

A 2025 analysis found that nursing students reported higher rates of self-compassion both immediately after retreats and one month later. There’s also growing evidence that they carry CCI lessons forward and are better positioned for long-term professional engagement, well-being, and professional success as a result.