The Clinic workshops: Nurses heal together through dance, play, painting and more

Dozens of nurses spent a full day dancing, playing, crying, and laughing as part of a programme by The Clinic that research shows is helping nurses decrease post-pandemic burnout. Watch this 80-second video to see its impact.

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With the nation facing a nursing crisis – almost 800,000 are expected to leave the workforce by 2027, the mission of the workshops is more germane than ever. The workshops are the brainchild of Tara Rynders, a nurse for more than 20 years, who is also a dancer and choreographer. In 2020, she was one of Newsweek‘s Heroes of the Pandemic.

After getting her MFA in Dance, Rynders founded The Clinic in 2017 to offer immersive workshops where nurses heal together through dance, play, painting, and more. Since then hundreds of nurses – including Staten Island University Hospital, Kentucky Nurses Association, and more recently, Kaiser Permanente – have participated. Most importantly, they work: Institutional Review Board (IRB) studies show they increase compassion, empathy, and resilience while reducing burnout.

Rynders recognised the healing powers of dance in 2009 when her sister became seriously and unexpectedly ill. Although her sister was unable to speak, Rynders discovered she could make her laugh by dancing around her tiny hospital room to “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus, her sister’s favourite song.

Nurses to participate in The Clinic workshops in September 2023

In the coming months, hundreds of Kaiser Permanente nurses will spend a full day dancing, playing, crying, and laughing together.

The workshops will be taking place in Santa Clara, California (September 11 and 12, 2023). Rynders first developed the concept alongside her colleague, Dr Clare Hammoor, through informal groups with fellow nurse friends.

In 2017, she established The Clinic, offering immersive workshops that promote collective healing by incorporating creative techniques such as dance, movement, play, storytelling, painting, and writing exercises.

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Recognising that nurses often say they are “OK” when they are sad, angry, exhausted or in physical pain, Rynders designed the experiences as a way for them to practise telling the truth about how they are feeling while reconnecting their minds with their bodies.

Hundreds of nurses nationwide – from Northwell Health, Denver’s Rose Medical Center, Kentucky Nurses Association, and Kaiser Permanente – have participated in Rynders’s workshops, which have been shown to decrease burnout and secondary traumatic stress while increasing compassion, empathy, and resilience according to Institutional Review Board (IRB) studies.

At the beginning of the day, Rynders and her team of facilitators wash the hands of every nurse as an opening ritual to let them know they’re entering a space where they will be taken care of. Next, the group takes part in “play exercises” to help create a sense of trust.

‘If you come in empty, you’re going to leave fulfilled’

In one exercise, nurses use tissue paper and tape to create astronaut uniforms and then take a spacewalk as they work to fix a problem together. The day also includes an opportunity for storytelling – to unload themselves of stories that have been causing them pain and grief and share them with fellow nurses who understand and empathise.

The workshop concludes with a joyous dance circle in which nurses celebrate each other and themselves. Rynders says nurses are profoundly transformed by this moment: “I see something shift in the eyes of the participants when they are celebrated – they soften, they receive, and some start to cry.”

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The pandemic and its aftereffects continue to pose immense challenges to hospitals and staff. According to an April report from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), 100,000 nurses have already left the workforce during the pandemic, with almost 800,000 more of the nation’s 4.5 million registered nurses expected to follow suit by 2027. The Clinic’s mission – to empathetically and collectively address burnout and trauma – feels more germane now than ever.

Charlene Johnson, a Kaiser Permanente nurse in South Sacramento who participated in an April workshop, stated, “The Clinic gives you an opportunity to create space for yourself where you can have joy and hope, and where you can decompress from the challenges that you’re facing and become one with the room. If you come in empty, you’re going to leave fulfilled and ready to go spread the light like you once did before.”

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About The Clinic

The Clinic strives to create a safe space for artists, nurses, patients, and the community to come together through the arts. Through live performance, dance, immersive theatre, and art-based workshops for healthcare providers, The Clinic cultivates a sense of wonder and joy through the arts. Using the See Me as a Person Framework originally designed for nurses to connect with patients, Rynders flips the script and uses it to train artists.

Together, Tara and the artists use this framework to model authentic courageous care and connection is in the moment. Rynders believes that the best way to care for our patients is to first wholeheartedly care for our nurses. When nurses are seen, heard, and cared for, our patients will be as well.

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