NURS 478 Self Care Journal

Your Name: Leah Skromme Your Buddy: Sarah Soderberg

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 tried to sleep at least 7 hours per night every day. This week was successful for about 5/7

days.
Comments on Activity:

This week was moderately successful, most of which I attributed to my clinical night shifts being back-

to-back, which helps me stay on a schedule and then I am able to switch back to days easier after my

block of nights. The only difficulty I had was sometimes it would take me a long time to fall asleep or I

would wake up frequently, which was due to my body still being new to sleeping during the day and

having roommates with opposite schedules.

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

2 This week I tried to sleep at least 7 hours per night every day. This was successful for about 2/7 days.

Comments on Activity:

This week was much more difficult for me with sleep. I unfortunately had a lot of my shifts at my job

that did not correlate well to my clinical shifts, which resulted in fragmented sleep of 2 hour intervals

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 some days. I was able to see how the poor sleep affected me at clinicals, because I would need more

caffeine and would notice I did not have as strong control of my emotions. I also went home during

this week, which was really nice but also did not help my sleep as I would stay up late with my little

brother and then wake up early with my mom.

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

This week Leah and I met up at a local coffee shop to spend some time together and catch up. Leah

said that she has been trying to sleep this week but it has been difficult because of her preceptorship

and working during the night. We talked about ways to try to help her get on a more routine sleep

schedule while working during the night and sleeping during the day. This included trying to cut back

on coffee during the night and trying to go to sleep right after clinical. It was nice to take a break and

grab a coffee and catch up, and I always view our time together as another form of self care. -Sarah

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

3 This week I tried to sleep at least 7 hours per night every day. This was successful for 5/7 days, and the

other 2 days I still managed to get more than 6 hours of sleep.

Comments on Activity:

This week was the week I did not have any clinicals, which really helped me gain control over my sleep

schedule. I started being able to sleep normal hours and could see the changes in my energy and

mood. Due to my improved sleep, I was also able to find the energy & time to work out 4/7 days for

greater than 1 hour each time. Due to the combination of increased sleep and exercise, I had a great

week and was really productive and happy.

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

This week Leah and I took a few hours to go to the mall and take some time away from school and

work. We both agreed that it was nice to be done with preceptorship, and it was beneficial for both of
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 us to have more time. Leah said that her sleep was better this week and she was beginning to fall back

into a normal sleep routine during the night. We both agreed that having a normal circadian rhythm is

important to sleep, and is something we will both have to work at whe we are full time nurses. - Sarah

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

4 This week I tried to sleep at least 7 hours per night every day. This was successful for 3/7 days, and the

other 3 days I still managed to get more than 6 hours of sleep. One night this week I got less than 5

hours of sleep.

Comments on Activity:

This week was a little rough on the sleep schedule. Due to assignments, work, and public health

clinicals starting I found myself not sleeping very well. Even on the nights where I got 6-7 hours of

sleep, I often had to take a nap after class/work in order to reach my sleeping goal. While the naps did

help me feel better slightly, I found myself consuming more caffeine and feeling less energized. It was

harder for me to be productive due to my sleeping irregularities.

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

This week Leah and I and I took a few minutes after class to eat lunch with each other and talk about

our progress with our self-care activities. With clinical starting back up and Leah working late at night

at her job, she has not been able to hit 7 hours every night. We talked about how hard it is to make

time for sleep, and how you have to put in work to try to get good sleep when you are busy with

school work, homework, and life. Despite these things, Leah remained positive and optimistic about

trying to get some more sleep in the weeks to come. -Sarah

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

5 This week I tried to sleep at least 7 hours per night every day. This was successful for 5/7 days, and the
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 other 2 days I still managed to get more than 6 hours of sleep one night, and more than 5 hours the

other night.

Comments on Activity:

This week was spring break (woohoo), so I had a lot less stress about school to interrupt my sleep. My

friends and I went on a road trip, which helped my mood and overall well-being immensely. The

laughs, exercise, and relaxation helped my mood immensely and I always fell asleep a lot easier. While

the road trip was great and I usually got adequate sleep, I think I was still tired during the days due to

the poor sleep the week before and the busy schedule we had planned. Once I returned home from

the trip, I made sure to sleep in a little extra to recover from school and the trip and felt much better

mentally and physically.

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

Leah and I spent a large part of the week together because we went on a trip for spring break! Leah

said that she felt less stressed because she didn’t have to worry about school and work for a few days.

However, we went to bed late and woke up early some of the days, and she didn’t always get great

sleep. Leah told me that she slept in after she got home from the trip and was able to rest up for the

last few days of spring break. It was a good week for her to catch up on some extra sleep and relax a

bit. -Sarah

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

6 This week I tried to sleep at least 7 hours per night every day. This was successful for 2/7 days, and the

other 4 days I still managed to get more than 6 hours of sleep one night, and the last day of the week I

got less than 5 hours of sleep.

Comments on Activity:

This week was part of extended spring break, but it was very busy and stressful nonetheless. I did not
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 get great sleep this week due to classes starting up, changes in my work schedule forcing me to work

morning shifts instead of closing shifts, and other important life changes. To focus on the good that

this week brought, I bought a new (used) car with a lot of help from my little brother, got offered my

dream job in the STICU at Banner UMC, got offered a nursing assistant position at Banner, and spent

some quality time with my loved ones. However, with all the drama from COVID-19 and changes to

school/work I found myself being really anxious and having problems falling asleep. I also found myself

waking up in the middle of the night, and overall did not feel very energized. The poor sleep caused

me to not be as productive, have less control of my emotions, and overall have a lower quality of life.

In the coming week, I am going to try to take some time to relax before bed and plan around my new

work schedule to set myself up for success.

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

This week Leah and I checked in with each other over zoom as a part of social distancing. We both

talked about how we have been more stressed due to everything happening with COVID-19 and things

being cancelled. Leah talked about how her sleep has been affected by all of this, and how she hasn’t

been able to sleep well this week. Dealing with all of the changes has been really stressful and Leah is

still working until late at night and trying to stay on top of all of the new online changes. We talked

about trying to take a few minutes before bed to reflect on the day in order to get some better sleep.

We are both hoping things can calm down a bit next week. - Sarah
Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):

7 This week I tried to sleep at least 7 hours per night every day. This was successful for 5/7 days, and the

other 1 day I still managed to get more than 6 hours of sleep per night, and the other 1 day of the

week I got more than 5 hours of sleep.

Comments on Activity:

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 This week was definitely more stressful than normal with all the changes related to COVID-19. I

unfortunately had to resign from my desk job, but will be soon starting a nursing tech position at

Banner. I am not great with change, so I definitely felt more anxious with the impending job as well as

being isolated most of the week due to my roommates and boyfriend not being in town. Though I had

more sleep this week, I definitely noticed that I was not as productive which I think is partly due to the

isolation and loneliness. I think this week showed me a lot about how important social interaction is to

my productivity and happiness in addition to sleep. I am going to be home for the next week so I hope

I get better sleep, am more productive, and feel less isolated/stressed.

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

This week Leah and I checked in with each other over zoom. Leah mentioned that she had a stressful

week with her job and doesn’t know if she will be able to keep her job during COVID-19. She is going to

start a new job as a patient care tech at Banner in a few weeks, and she is also slightly nervous about

being in the hospital setting right now. Because of this, Leah has had some difficulties sleeping and

handling her stress. However, we both talked about how it is nice to have some extra time with all of

the online classes. We have both been able to take a little more time for ourselves and sleep in a little

more. We are both looking forward to graduation and the opportunity to start working as a nurse.

-Sarah

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

8 This week I tried to sleep at least 7 hours per night every day. This was successful for 4/7 days, and the

other 2 days I still managed to get more than 6 hours of sleep per night, and the other 1 day of the

week I got more than 5 hours of sleep.

Comments on Activity:
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 This week was decent in regards to my sleep. I was able to visit home this week because I resigned

from my desk job and am not starting my nursing assistant job until the following week. I felt less

lonely this week because I was able to spend time with family, which helped improve my mood. I had a

lot more trouble falling and staying asleep, which I think was due to being restless and anxious about

the changes in school and life. I also had my sleeping schedule much more irregular this week, in part

due to lack of productivity during the day and spending time with my family and boyfriend watching

movies late at night. The poor sleep at night made me wake up later in the morning and not be

productive most of the day. Moving forward I am going to try to regulate my bedtime more when I am

back in Tucson because I definitely see a correlation between sleep and productivity.

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 a lot about how much sleep can affect my everyday life. I learned how
important it is to take time to be involved in self care, even when school and work are hectic. I also
learned how nice it is to sit down at the end of the week and reflect on what happened that week and
how you felt. It taught me more about self reflection and healthy sleep patterns.

Have you noticed any changes in your life since you began this intervention?
I noticed a lot of changes in my life since I began this intervention. While due to school and work my
success varied week to week, I found myself being more aware of sleep and how it affected my days. I
could tell that sleeping poorly affected my mood and productivity, and how a good night of sleep could
help improve my overall life so much. I definitely feel more in tune with my body since this
intervention began, and hope that once school is more balanced I will really be able to find the best
sleeping routine that will help me better my life overall.

Will you do anything differently now? Please explain.

I think that I am going to continue this intervention, and try to get at least 7 hours of sleep per night. I
also think that I want to start reflecting on my own each week, whether that be through talking to my

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 friends or writing it down in a journal. I think it is interesting to look back on these last 8 weeks, and
would like to continue being mindful of my sleep as well as using self reflection more often.

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
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