NURS 478 Self Care Journal

Your Name: ___Cassidy Leroux________________ Your Buddy: ___Amanda Nguyen_____

Select any evidence-based intervention/recommendation to follow (do this over 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 hiked Picacho Peak, which allowed me to get about 5 hours both in nature and exercising.

Comments on Activity:

I absolutely loved this activity. The hike was challenging and fun and allowed me to focus my mind on
the present task instead of stressing about other things occurring in my life. Spending time in nature and
getting fresh air always makes me feel refreshed and happy, and the fact that I spent the hike with
friends made it that much more fun and relaxing. I ended the hike feeling very proud of myself (as it
was the hardest hike that I had ever completed) and thankful that I had spent the day in the way that I
did.

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

2
This week I attended a pottery class at the Tucson Clay Co-op for two hours on Sunday morning and
went for a 3-mile run around campus in the afternoon.

Comments on Activity:

I really loved the combination of the calm, soothing pottery class and the active, tiring run. By doing
both of these activities in the same day I felt like I had addressed both my mental and physical health
and wellbeing. In the pottery class, we learned about how to center the piece of clay on the wheel and
how important it was to center yourself emotionally before trying to center the pottery. I was able to
apply that thinking to the run that I went on later in the day and I really felt that I was listening to both
my mind and my body.

M O’C Fall 2018

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

In our buddy check in Amanda and I talked about each of our fitness goals and how we want to work to
achieve them this semester. Amanda purchased a journal to keep track of all of her workouts in and is
hoping that the journal will help to keep her accountable and help her remember all of her weights for
each of the machines at the gym.

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

3
This week I went to two hour-long yoga classes at 4th Ave Yoga.

Comments on Activity:

I’ve found that I love yoga! I tried it as a kid but was always too impatient to enjoy the slow movements
and tough stretches, but this week I found that I really do love it. It’s been a great way for me to start
some of my mornings and, because I’ve gone with friends, it also gave me an opportunity to spend time
with people that I love. By the end of the classes I was very sore and sweaty, but my heart felt full and I
felt very proud of myself.

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

Amanda also went to these yoga classes with me, so we’ve been doing a good job of holding each other
accountable by going together. She recently hurt her back and had to stop running for a little bit, but
getting back into yoga where she could move at her own pace and stretch her back out really helped her
to feel better and more productive while she can’t run.

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

4
This week I attended a 2-hour pottery class at Tucson Clay Co-Op and went on a 3-mile hike with my
mom while she was in town.

Comments on Activity:

I was so lucky to have my mom visiting this week and I loved going hiking with her! We’re from
Colorado so we love getting out into the desert here and marveling at all of the cacti and critters that we
see. I feel like it’s so easy to forget how beautiful the world that you live in is and that it’s really
important to get out into nature and remind yourself to be grateful that you live in such a weird and
interesting place. I also loved my pottery class this week- I even made a javelina planter to plant a
succulent in (here’s hoping it doesn’t explode in the kiln)!

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

This week Amanda and I talked about her recovering from her injury and getting back into exercising
more, which she is really excited about. We talked about different options of activities that I can do
once my weekly pottery class ends and our preceptorships start. We know it will be hard to make time
for self-care once that gets going, but we’re committed to making time!

M O’C Fall 2018

 Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
5
This week I spent 4 hours in nature in my hammock.

Comments on Activity:

One of the big tasks that I needed to complete this week was calling all of my family members and
organizing travel and other details related to graduation. I had been avoiding this for a while, as the
thought of graduation tends to stress me out, but I decided that I would set up my hammock and try to
combat the stressful phone calls with nature. I loved it! It took a lot of talking for me to get everything
ironed out with my family, but it helped SO much to be in nature while I did it.

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

This week Amanda and I talked about how proud we are of our accomplishments thus far. We both have
really enjoying having the time to actually focus on ourselves this semester, unlike last semester where
it often felt like you didn’t even have time to breathe. We’ve both been so much more active and happy
this semester!

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

6
This week Amanda and I went to the Campus Rec Center together for an hour and went on a 3.5-mile
run together around campus.

Comments on Activity:

Amanda is such an inspiration when it comes to fitness, so I always love having the opportunity to work
out with her! I always push myself much harder when I work out with other people, and it definitely
helps that she is always being motivational and supportive (and cracking jokes) the whole time. I’m
going to miss having my best friend nearby to be my workout buddy!

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

Amanda and I were together for our intervention this week, so there wasn’t much of an active check-in.
It was really amazing to work out with her and we both hope to continue it more often for the remaining
weeks of the semester!

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

7
This week I committed to doing a 15-minute mindfulness meditation every day of the week.

M O’C Fall 2018

 Comments on Activity:

This week was the first time that I really challenged myself during this self-care journal. In the
beginning of the week, 15 minutes felt like a really long time and I wondered if I really would be able to
do it every day of the week. But by the end of the week I was really enjoying it! It felt good to have time
put away to be calm and carefree every day.

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

Amanda and I talked this week about how we’re hoping/planning to continue being active after
graduation. We talked about wanting to try new hiking spots wherever we end up moving and using
FaceTime to call each other and keep each other accountable. Hopefully we’ll be able to be there for
each other virtually even if we can’t be there physically.

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

8
This week I went to 3 hour-long yoga classes at 4th Ave Yoga. I attended two hot Vinyasa classes and
one regular Vinyasa class.

Comments on Activity:

I have absolutely fallen in love with yoga. As a kid, I was too impatient for it and had kind of written it
off as something I didn’t really like, but it turns out that I love it! Every day before I go I spend the
entire day looking forward to it and getting excited for how good my mind and body will feel after the
class. It’s something that I’m really hoping to work on after I graduate!

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?

These activities taught me that it can be easy to incorporate mindfulness into your daily routine and that
a little change to your routine can go a really long way. I was also surprised at how many self-care
activities I do in a week without even noticing!

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

I have noticed that I am much happier and my body feels much better on days where I do some sort of
active self-care activity. I find myself craving these activities and I look forward to them more than I
look forward to most things in my normal routine.

M O’C Fall 2018

 Will you do anything differently now? Please explain.

I will definitely carry these activities forward with me now that these 8 weeks are over! I have loved
doing them and will love carrying them with me. This has also made me more aware of the way that my
mind and body feel every day.

Comments/suggestions:
Keep doing these in future semesters!

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

M O’C Fall 2018