Burnout, Breast Pumps, and Building Better Careers: What Nurses Taught Me About Leadership That Lasts

Nurses Week Reflections on Work, Risk, and What Caring Really Costs — From a CPA Who’s Been Paying Attention

So first off, I know most of you reading this are finance leaders, execs, or business professionals. But stick with me, this story is more relevant than you might think.

It’s Nurses Week, and I can’t stop thinking about a toilet.

Not because of what it was for, but because that’s where my wife had to pump breast milk during her shifts as a physical therapist. No designated room. No break. Just a bathroom stall and a clock ticking down on her productivity quota.

That story came flooding back during my recent interview with Sara Fung, RN, best-selling author, healthcare advocate, and co-host of the Atypical with Amie Archibald-Varley (Formerly Gritty Nurse Podcast). Her journey from stress leave denial and toxic work environments to podcasting, coaching, and media success is extraordinary not because it was perfectly planned, but because it wasn’t. She just kept taking the next right step.

This story isn’t just about nursing. It’s about all of us, especially those of us in high-burnout, low-humanity professions like finance, accounting, and corporate leadership. Sara’s path has huge implications for how we think about leadership, financial runway, calculated risks, and building businesses that actually work.

So here’s what I took away, and why this story matters to you, even if you’ve never worn scrubs.

And if this article resonates, you’ll get even more value from our full hour-long conversation —watch it here.

1. Leadership That Prevents Burnout Is Everyone’s Responsibility

When Sara shared her early story of toxic managers, denied accommodations, and stress leave refusals, it resonated far beyond healthcare. It reminded me that the people we lose first to burnout are often the ones we most need to keep: high performers with deep empathy, who push through until they collapse.

In healthcare, that looks like nurses being forced to cover multiple units during COVID, or moms hiding in utility closets to pump. In our world? It’s the staff accountant working 70-hour weeks during close, or the mid-level leader covering for two missing heads without a bonus or even acknowledgment.

Sara could’ve stayed silent. Instead, she started speaking up, not just for herself, but for others. That decision ultimately led to her podcast (The Gritty Nurse), national media appearances, and a best-selling book, The Wisdom of Nurses.

She didn’t set out to become a thought leader. She just refused to let silence be the standard.

Her story is a gut check to those of us in leadership roles. Are we protecting our best people, or just expecting them to survive it? And for those in healthcare: It’s not just appreciation that matters, it’s action. Better policies. Real breaks. Listening to feedback. And creating environments where people can care for others without destroying themselves.

If you’re a manager in any field, especially in high-pressure industries: Take the temperature of your team. Ask who’s one project away from breaking. And fix the system, not just the symptoms.

2. Calculated Risk Requires a Runway (and Real Talk at Home)

One of the most refreshing things about Sara’s journey is how intentional she was about making a change. She didn’t quit in a blaze of glory. She didn’t walk out and decide to start a coaching business on the fly.

She built a financial runway. She strategically took a slightly lower-paying but more flexible job to give herself the space to create. She started her podcast and her business while still employed. And she talked with her husband every step of the way.

She knew the math.

This is where most people get stuck. They dream of a pivot but don’t plan for it. They want freedom without flexibility in their finances. And they think jumping in headfirst is brave, when really it’s just high-risk gambling.

Calculated risk requires capital, emotional, financial, and relational margin.

Sara shared that she and her family got extremely clear on their household spending. Let’s say your family spends $6,000/month. That means you need $72,000/year just to keep pace (post-tax). If you’re considering a lower-paying, more flexible role at, say, $50,000/year, that gap has to be covered either by savings, business income, or lifestyle changes. On top of that, add any expenses tied to building your business, software, coaching certifications, podcast equipment, or marketing. She had clear numbers and even clearer expectations with her partner.

What made this work wasn’t just the runway, it was the guardrails. She set a timeline: if things didn’t take off after a defined season, she’d return to nursing full-time. No shame, no failure, just data, communication, and strategy.

And here’s the kicker: by taking that risk, she ended up making more money than she ever would have staying put. Financial flexibility led to financial upside.

3. Start Where You’re Credible, Then Let the Market Guide You

One of my favorite parts of Sara’s story was her evolution. She didn’t launch with a perfect business plan. In fact, her first podcast episode? She didn’t even know how to turn it off. But she hit publish anyway. That alone sets her apart from the 90% of would-be creators who never hit "record", or quit before the first 10 episodes are completed.

Before her coaching business, Sara trained as a lactation consultant/doula. That was her initial career pivot, an attempt to serve other mothers. But through conversations and client feedback, she realized people weren’t just asking for help with breastfeeding. They were asking for help leaving toxic jobs, finding remote work, and designing better lives within healthcare.

She didn’t ignore the feedback, she adjusted. She started with what she knew: nursing, healthcare systems, and burnout. That credibility gave her authority, content, and connection.

I see this with finance professionals all the time. People ask me, “Should I start a coaching business?” or “Could I go out on my own?”

And I always ask: What do people already ask you for help with and willing to pay you for? Where do you already have scars and receipts?

For a CPA who’s led dozens of tax seasons, starting a tax-focused coaching or fractional CFO practice makes sense. For someone with no experience in leadership, launching a a leadership consulting business about “mindset” almost always goes nowhere.

The key takeaway? Start where you are an authority. Then let real conversations guide what’s next.

Your MVP (minimum viable product) is a starting point, not a destination. But you can’t iterate on an idea that’s still in your head.

Start now. Refine later.

4. Courage Emerges Because of Fear, Not in Spite of It

Sara was scared when she left her job. Her managers had undermined her, her stress leave was denied, and the idea of starting something new, without a corporate safety net, was terrifying.

She didn’t know how to edit her first episode. She didn’t know if anyone would listen. And she definitely didn’t know she’d go on to co-author a best-selling book or appear on media outlets across Canada.

But she kept taking the next step. That’s how success actually works. It’s not clarity followed by courage. It’s courage, then consistency, and then clarity.

You might not know where it will lead. But if it’s rooted in serving others, aligned with your experience, and responsibly planned for, it will lead somewhere good.

And if you’ve been waiting for a sign to take the next step? This is it.

Final Thought

Sara’s story reminded me that the best leaders aren’t the ones who never burned out. They’re the ones who used their burnout to build something better, for themselves, and for others.

She didn’t run away from her profession. She reimagined it.

And she didn’t do it alone. She did it with her husband, her podcast co-host, her kids, and her community. One voice. One step. One rep at a time.

She didn’t just build a business, she went on an adventure. One that’s led to more impact, income, and relationships than she ever imagined. One that only she could’ve lived, because it was grounded in her truth, her dissatisfaction with the status quo, her honesty with herself, and her willingness to ask, “What if there’s a better way?”

So as we celebrate Nurses Week, let’s go beyond the applause. Let’s build the kind of systems and careers that people don’t have to escape from. Let’s take the step that’s in front of us. Let’s start the thing. Even if we don’t know how to turn it off.

P.S. You can follow Sara on LinkedIn, check out the Gritty Nurse podcast, or grab her book The Wisdom of Nurses wherever you buy books (links below). And if this resonated with you, feel free to reply, share, or comment, I’d love to hear what you’re building next.

Website: www.sarafung.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saramfung/

Career coaching: https://www.thernresume.com/

Podcast: www.grittynurse.com

Book:http://harpercollins.ca/9781443468718/the-wisdom-of-nurses/