NURS 478 Self Care Journal

Your Name: _Macie Stutz____________________ Your Buddy: _Ceci McGalliard___________________

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): The intervention
1 that I chose to implement for this week was to do 60 minutes of running on the treadmill at my gym.

Comments on Activity: Typically, I am not a running type of person but I wanted to try something
different to better my health. At first, I was doing well running at 7.5 miles per hour but it got harder to
keep up overtime. I would go down to 5 miles per hour in order to catch my breath for 5 minutes and
then go back up to 7.5 miles per hour. As I ran, I felt the stress from school or my personal life fade
away which encouraged me to go further.

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

Ceci was happy that she was able to do a self-care activity with her friends since she has been busy with
her job and public health clinical.

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time): The intervention
2 I chose for this week was the same as week 1 but with a goal to maintain my running at 6-7.5 miles per
hour for the whole 60 minutes.

Comments on Activity: This week went much better than last week. I was able to achieve my running
goal and ran between 6-7.5 miles per hour the whole 60 minutes. After I completed this self-care
activity, I felt a burst of energy and was able to complete my assignments for the week with ease.

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

Ceci completed her 2 hours of yoga like week 1 but this time took a hot yoga class. She felt that this
class energized her and created a cleansing like effect on her body.

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time): During this week
3 I chose to implement the self-care intervention of practicing mindfulness for 10 minutes each day.

Comments on Activity: I chose to do this self-care intervention because my preceptorship started this
week. I was very nervous about starting my preceptorship this week and wanted a way to relax and be
prepared mentally when I arrived on the unit. I completed my mindfulness sessions in my car and my
room. Each time I completed a session, felt very refreshed and ready for the challenges of the day. I
believe the mindfulness helped me perform well during my first week of my preceptorship!

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

Ceci felt empowerment along with significant stress relief after completing her kick boxing class this
week.

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time): During this week
4 I implemented mindfulness again to develop a more established routine since it worked so well last
week.

Comments on Activity: I was able to establish a routine of mindfulness by doing it every day after I
woke up. Starting out my day with 10 minutes of mindfulness really improved my attitude, especially
after not getting enough sleep or a long night shift. I hope to keep up with this routine throughout my
preceptorship and my nursing career.

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

Ceci found it difficult to start her preceptorship during dayshift because she is a night person. The 7
hours before clinical required her to go to sleep at 10:30 pm which she considered early. By the end of
the week though, she was able to sleep during this time with no problems and felt better during clinical.

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 Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time): For this week I
5 chose to implement the self-care intervention of sleeping at least 7 hours per night after my clinical
shifts at the hospital.

Comments on Activity: I chose this self-care activity because for the past two weeks of my
preceptorship I had not been sleeping that well. I have never been on a night shift before and adjusting
to it was hard on my body. I was only getting 4 hours of sleep because I felt that I could not sleep during
the day. Implementing this intervention was hard and I still have not gotten it down yet, but I am hoping
by trying it again next week I can work my way up to 7 hours of sleep.

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

Ceci did mindfulness every other day for 10 minutes. She stated that this reminded her of yoga and felt
very relaxed after every session.

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time): During this week
6 I again chose to implement the sleep intervention since I struggled with it last week.

Comments on Activity: This week went a lot better than last week. I was able to sleep longer before my
preceptorship shifts. I felt more refreshed during my shift and overall performed better during clinical. I
accomplished this by putting black curtains over my windows to block the light and it really helped!

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

Ceci exercised for an hour 3 times this week. She said that it was difficult to implement but she was
proud she completed it. In order to improve on this she said she is planning to implement this
intervention next week.

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time): During week 7 I
7 decided to implement yoga for my selfcare intervention. I took 2 hour long yoga classes at 4th Ave
Yoga.

Comments on Activity: I attended two vinyasa yoga classes during this week at 4th Ave Yoga Studio. I
used to go to yoga here often before nursing school but stopped once nursing school started. The first
class was difficult for me, but I felt really refreshed and energized afterwards. By the second class I was
able to get in the flow of this yoga and felt more confident. Yoga really helps me to destress and I enjoy
trying new types, so for next week I want to attend two different style yoga classes.

M OC Fall 2017
 Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation):

Ceci worked out 4 times this week for an hour each time. She was happy that she was able to increase
her time spent at the gym. By going to the gym more often it pushed her to start eating better during the
week as well.

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time): During this last
8 week for my selfcare journal I attended 2 hour long bikrham yoga classes.

Comments on Activity: This style of yoga was harder for me because the temperature of the room is
hotter then vinyasa. I made sure to drink lots of water before and after the yoga class. At first I was
really tired, but overall felt more refreshed and was able to accomplish more tasks throughout the day.

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

Ceci chose the selfcare intervention of sleep this week. She was able to sleep for 7 hours per day for
three days. She tried to sleep for 7 hours for 6 nights but by after the third night she was able to
accomplish this selfcare goal. She felt well rested and was able to be more productive throughout the
day.

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?

Over all I felt that these selfcare interventions improved my wellbeing and health as a student. It is easy
to stress because of exams, preceptorship, applications and assignments. Some days it was hard to find
the time to implement these interventions, but I was happy I was able to accomplish one every week.
My favorite activities were working out and yoga because I use to do them so often before nursing
school started. I was happy this journal allowed me to get back into some of the activities I enjoyed!

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

I have noticed that I have been less stressed since implementing these selfcare interventions. They all
made me feel refreshed and prepared for the work I had to get done. I feel like because of this activity I
will be able to implement these selfcare interventions while studying for the NCLEX and during my
career as a nurse.

Will you do anything differently now? Please explain.

I plan to make sure that I have time to implement one of these interventions every week to help my
health and wellbeing.

Comments/suggestions: None.

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

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

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