Finding Bliss after Burnout

Have you ever looked at the nurse next to you, who seems to work shift after shift without flagging, and wondered why you feel completely wiped out? In this episode, Michelle shares how discovering she is a Manifestor in Human Design gave her permission to stop fighting her energy and start building a career and life around it.
She also announces the launch of her free Human Design Calculator for Nurses, along with free guides and a Human Design playbook created specifically for nurses.
In this episode
Why Michelle spent years comparing herself to other nurses and carrying guilt and shame about her energy
A quick overview of Human Design and how a chart is calculated (date, time and place of birth)
What it means to be a Manifestor: big bursts of initiating and creating, followed by a real need for rest and solitude
A real-time example from a huge filming day, and how Michelle honoured her energy dip by handing over the afternoon
A brief look at the five energy types: Manifestors, Generators, Manifesting Generators, Projectors and Reflectors
How energy type can shape the nursing roles that suit you, from variety and movement to autonomy, mentoring or predictable routines
Michelle's own shift from 27 years in critical care to casual occupational health and safety nursing
Why struggling doesn't mean you're a bad nurse, and doesn't mean you have to leave nursing
Options for doing nursing differently: changing hours, specialty or environment, skipping overtime, going casual or pool nursing, or moving into leadership
Key takeaways
There is nothing wrong with you if you can't keep up constant output.
You don't have to leave nursing to feel better. You may just need to do it differently.
Understanding how your energy works lets you choose roles and routines that support it.
Curiosity beats self-criticism.
Mentioned in this episode
Free Human Design Calculator for Nurses: www.thehealthyhappynurse.com/human-design
Human Design Playbook for Nurses (details sent after you use the calculator)
Connect with Michelle
Once you've found your type, message Michelle on Instagram at @thehealthyhappynurse and tell her what you are.

Melissa is the founder of Leading Rein, a leadership facilitator, coach and the 2023 Tasmanian winner of the Agri Futures Rural Women’s Award for her innovative and professional development framework Leading Rein. 
https://www.instagram.com/leadingrein/
https://www.leadingrein.com.au/

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In this episode, Michelle sits down with Wendy Trevathan, a nurse with more than three decades of experience across clinical nursing, education, and management. Wendy shares how nursing culture and training have evolved — from hospital-based certificate programs to university degrees — and reflects on what's been gained and lost along the way. The conversation moves into the pressures driving burnout in the profession today, Wendy's own experience of workplace dysfunction and speaking up, and why she ultimately stepped away from nursing to support the profession in a different way.
Wendy also introduces the upcoming Standing Strong: Addressing Bullying, Safety and Culture in Nursing Summit, an event she created to give nurses practical tools for navigating bullying, isolation, and organisational dysfunction — without burning out or losing their sense of self.
Get your ticket to the summit

Recorded from a quirky pink hotel on the Gold Coast during a solo business trip, Michelle shares a moment that stopped her in her tracks: watching an elderly couple at dinner, sitting side by side, sharing toasted sandwiches and wine, completely present with each other. No phones, no rush — just quiet togetherness.
That moment sparked this episode's central question: what are you waiting for?
Michelle unpacks the habit so many of us fall into — postponing real life until "someday." Waiting until the kids are older, until the job gets easier, until there's more money, until burnout passes. She reflects on her own post-burnout realization that she was surviving, not living, and how she made the decision to stop waiting for permission or perfect timing to start actually showing up for her life.
Tag Michelle on Instagram: @michellegordon_coach