NURS 478 Self Care Journal

Your Name: __Krista Laurie_________________ Your Buddy: _Nicole Donos____________

Select an evidence-based recommendation to follow for 8 weeks:

 Sleep at least 7 hours per night before and after a work or school day
 Practice mindfulness meditation for at least 10 minutes everyday
 Complete at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, such as biking under 9
mph, dancing, jogging, or playing tennis; or complete 60 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week,
such as running, kickboxing, or jumping rope.
 Participate in two professionally led yoga classes for one hour or longer per week
 Spend up to 2 hrs in Nature or longer per week
 Other (Must get your Clinical Faculty approval first, and activity should be up to 2 hrs or longer
per week)

Complete Weekly journal entries:

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
1
This week I began the implementation of my regular exercise routine. All of the workouts were of
moderate intensity.
- On Sunday I went hiking for approximately 120 minutes
- On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and Friday I went on 30-minute jogs around the
neighborhood
Total Time: 240 minutes
Comments on Activity:

It was fun to go hiking and to experience nature while getting my heart rate up.
It was hard to initially push myself to leave the house and exercise, but I feel more calm and have more
energy to work when I return.
Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
2
This week I continued to exercise regularly. All of the exercise I performed was of moderate intensity.
- On Sunday I rode the stationary bike for 30 minutes.
- On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and Friday I went on 30-minute jogs around the
neighborhood

Comments on Activity:

It has been a busy and stressful week. It was initially difficult for me to convince myself to take 30
minutes out of my day to exercise. I continue to feel better and less stressed afterwards though.

Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)

M O’C Fall 2017

 I spoke with Nicole today, February 14th, regarding her self-care progress. This week she was able to
implement 150 minutes of moderate exercise, as well as 35 minutes of intense exercise. She said that
this is going well for her, at that it was not difficult for her to integrate this into her schedule.

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):

3
This week I decided to try mindfulness meditation daily. Everyday (Sunday through Saturday) I spent
approximately 10 minutes before bed sitting and being present, in meditation and prayer.

Comments on Activity:

Sometimes I feel my mind wander and I get distracted. When I can really focus, I feel relaxed and at
peace afterwards. I have a phone app that guides deep breathing, which is helpful as well.

Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)

I checked in with Nicole today, February 22nd, to see how her self-care was progressing. She has been
struggling a little bit to keep a consistent exercise routine. This is mainly due to a change of schedule
starting her preceptorship, and adapting to night shift. She is attending a fencing tournament this
weekend though, which she greatly enjoys and is a good form or exercise.

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):

4
This week my goal was to spend at least two hours in nature. I went on about a 2-hour hike in Sabino
Canyon on Friday. In addition, I spent about a total of 1.5 hours walking outside during the day
throughout the rest of the week.

Comments on Activity:

It felt very refreshing to get outside. My mind feels much more clear and alert after spending some time
outdoors.

Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)

I spoke with Nicole on March 5th. Her goal for this week was to get 7 hours of sleep every night. She
accomplished this well, and had much more time to sleep in over spring break. Using melatonin and an
eye mask helped with this as well.

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):

5
This week I went on a 45-minute job through my neighborhood 5 out of 7 days of the week. This totals
for 225 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise.

M O’C Fall 2017

 Comments on Activity:

This is more exercise than I usually am able to do. It was good for my emotional and physical health to
be able to do this.

Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)

Nicole has been able to relax this week, and spend time with friends and family. She was also able to
work out a lot, and get some high intensity work outs in over the break.

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):

6
This week I continued to work on being physically active, I did a total of 150 minutes of moderate
activity exercise. This included 120 minutes of jogging and 30 minutes of riding the stationary bike at
high speed.
Comments on Activity:

It was a busy week with multiple 12-hour shifts. It felt good to push myself to still be active regardless
of the circumstances.

Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)

Nicole did a variety of different workouts this week. These activities included strength training, fencing
practice, kick boxing and biking. It makes exercise more fun for her to be able to mix up the activities
on a daily basis

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):

7
This week I initiated deep breathing relaxation, along with mindfulness meditation. I broke it up into
about 2-minute segments throughout the day, instead of doing 10 continuous minutes. I did a total of
about 10-12 minutes every day, Sunday through Saturday.

Comments on Activity:

This was helpful in reducing stress throughout my day. Even in the middle of my preceptorship, when
times were stressful, it was helpful to just take a couple of minutes to breathe. Afterwards I felt much
more calm and refreshed.

Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)

I checked in with Nicole on March 29th. She was feeling slightly ill this week, therefore she was not
able to do any high-intensity workouts. She was able to push herself to get at least 150 minutes of
moderate-intensity exercise in though.

M O’C Fall 2017

 Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
8
This week I was able to exercise more than usual. I exercised six out of seven days of the week. Three
out of seven days I went on 30-minutes jogs, two days I went on 45-minute jogs and one day I
combined 15 minutes of jogging with 30 minutes of riding the stationary bike. This totaled 225 minutes
of moderate-intensity activity.

Comments on Activity:

I felt accomplished after pushing myself to be active this week. I feel refreshed mentally and physically
after exercising. One day I was able to run around outside with my parents and dog, which I enjoyed.

Complete Survey Below

(Once Completed submit entire document to D2L Assignment Drop box by Due date and add to Your
Portfolio.)

Reflection on Panopto presentation and 8-week intervention:

What did these activities teach you?

Setting time aside to care for my health and well-being proved to be a valuable experience for me. My
life was often very busy during these eight weeks, but setting time aside to care for myself always
proved itself to be rewarding. I learned that no matter how busy life gets, there are ways big and small
ways to care for yourself. Taking time to care for yourself allows you to feel better personally, and in
turn be able to care for others more effectively.

Have you noticed any changes in your life since you began this intervention?

Since I began this intervention I noticed decreased stress levels in my daily life. It helped me to go
about my day with a more clear and calm mind, if I had taken even a little bit of time to care for myself.
Exercising more regularly, and with purpose, kept me accountable for my physical health as well.

Will you do anything differently now? Please explain.

I will try to continue to make conscientious efforts to care for myself. This may mean initially
scheduling self-care activities into my daily life. I believe that if I do it often enough it will become a
habit. I know that my mental and emotional well-being is key in the kind of nurse I become, so I will
continue to work hard at this.

Comments/suggestions:

Please rate how strongly you agree or disagree with these statements:
Following an evidence-based recommendation to reduce burnout was valuable to me.

M O’C Fall 2017

 Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree
5 4 3 2 1

This 8-week intervention will help me implement preventative strategies for burnout in my career.

Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Agree Disagree
5 4 3 2 1

This Panopto presentation titled: “Nurse Burnout: What this is and how you can minimize it in your careers”
effectively taught me how I can reduce and address nurse burnout in my career.

Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Agree Disagree
5 4 3 2 1

Completing the Big Five Personality Test was helpful for exploring my risk of nurse burnout.

Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Agree Disagree
1 2 3 4 5

M O’C Fall 2017