Nursing sabbatical in the acute care setting: what is the evidence?

To review and examine the literature supporting a professional sabbatical, a potentially viable and innovative change strategy that could renew, revitalize, and retain nursing staff practicing in the acute care setting.

A literature search was completed using multiple search engines to procure articles that could answer the question: What is the evidence related to professional sabbaticals in nursing?

The search yielded 19 articles: one historical document, eight scholarly business articles, and 10 nursing publications. The literature review revealed most sources described sabbaticals using anecdotal data and 14 of the 19 articles were labeled as expert opinion or consensus.

Borrowing from the successes in academia and other non-nursing professions, a human capital investment opportunity exists to design and test nursing sabbaticals. The authors identified a nursing sabbatical as a viable option, which can enhance nursing retention and revitalization.