NURS 478 Self Care Journal

Your Name: Chloe DeWitt Your Buddy: Julia Binder

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 was able to sleep at least 7 hours before and after a work or school day only three of the
nights. This has been difficult because of my preceptorship. It seems to be difficult to come home from
clinical and then complete an assignment.

Comments on Activity:

I think this intervention will be beneficial for me because I have not ever made it a goal to try and sleep
a specific number of hours before and after a work, school, or clinical.

Buddy Check-In Comments:

During Julia’s first week found that meditating before bed has been helpful, however, it is difficult for
her to do the intervention the night before clinicals. She finds that she is busy doing other things like
preparing food and taking a shower.
Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
2
This week I was able to better prepare for the week and I was able to get the majority of my assignments
done. This made it easier for me to come home after clinical and go to bed. I was able to sleep at least 7
hours for four of the nights, however, I did get sick during one of my shifts and this made it difficult to
rest because I was stressed out for going home a day early for one of my scheduled clinical days.

Comments on Activity:

Although getting at least 7 hours of sleep every night before or after a work, school, or clinical day may
be something our body needs it is sometimes difficult to go to sleep when there are things that still need
to get done. I will continue to try and better prepare for my week and improve on my time management
skills.

M O’C Fall 2018

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

Julia is using mindfulness and meditation. She was able to meditate for 10 minutes every day except for
Thursday because she was stressed out about going to her preceptorship the next day. On the nights
before her preceptorship she feels rushed and anxious that she does not have everything finished.

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

3
This week is my third week of my preceptorship and I am starting to get used to the rotations and my
schedule. Although it has been difficult coming home and going straight to bed, I was able to sleep at
least 7 hours before and after every day I had work, school, or clinical. This week I feel more rested,
however, I do not feel less stressed.

Comments on Activity:

I am starting to notice a difference what getting at least 7 hours of sleep has done for me. I have also
been doing other things to promote me health like drinking more water and eating healthier. This seems
to be giving me more energy during the day.

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

Julia has been able to implement meditation every day of this week. She even started meditating during
the day and at night. Julia went on vacation this week and stayed with her family in San Diego. She told
me how she was able to meditate on the beach and it was very relaxing.

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

4
This week I have been exhausted because I went to clinical 4 days in a row. However, one of my days
was only a half day so I was only there for 6 hours. This was helpful because after my half day I was
able to come home and finish some schoolwork and go to bed early. I was only able to sleep at least 7
hours for 5 of the days before and after work, school, or clinical.

Comments on Activity:

Although it is sometimes difficult to balance work, school, and clinical all at the same time I am
optimistic about this specific intervention because soon I will only be working as a registered nurse and
will not have additional assignments or another job to worry about. I am hopeful that if I continue this
during my career, I will have less stress and be less susceptible to burnout.

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

Julia was able to meditate every day this week. She was even able to meditate before one of our exams
and told me that it was very helpful in feeling more relaxed. She told me that meditating has been
helpful, and she realizes that the things that are stressing her out are not the big of a deal.

M O’C Fall 2018

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
5
This week was my last week of clinical and by this time I do not feel as anxious about waking up and
going to the hospital. I noticed during my previous weeks I had a lot of anxiety and felt nervous the
night before clinical which caused me to lose some sleep. This week I was able to recognize my anxious
feelings and tell myself that it was going to be okay. This helped a lot and I was able to sleep at least 7
hours all of the nights before and after I had work, school, or clinical.

Comments on Activity:

I have realized the impact that stress can have on the body; however, stress is not always preventable.
Especially in the career that we are in. I have also noticed that maybe just getting at least 7 hours of
sleep every night before and after every work, school, and clinical day may not be enough to reduce the
stress but will only give my body enough energy to tolerate it for another day.

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

This week Julia was able to implement meditation every day this week. She hung out with some friends
over the course of the week, so she was able to do her meditation her the week. She told me that she has
been stressed out about the coronavirus and is worried about it getting worse. She was able to use
mindfulness and it put her mind at ease.

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

6
This week was such a relief. Since I am done with my preceptorship, I have noticed that I have much
less stress and feel like I have accomplished a big part of nursing school. We also have the week off so
this week I only have to worry about class and work. However, I do still have early shifts at work so it is
still important for me to go to bed early and so that I would be able to get at least 7 hours of sleep. This
week I was actually able to sleep at least 7 hours before and after every day I had work or school and I
feel great.

Comments on Activity:

I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. After finishing my preceptorship, I am hopeful that
I will be able to get through this semester and have a better understanding of what I need to do in order
to reduce my stress. This week sleeping at least 7 hours has been enough for me and I have felt at peace
with myself.

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

Julia was able to the intervention of mindfulness throughout the day. She was able to use mindfulness
throughout the day and has found it to be more helpful she finds herself stressed. This week Julia had to
go back to Tucson and pack up all of her things so that she could move back home with her parents. She
told me that this is a big change and has caused her a lot of stress.

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

M O’C Fall 2018

 7
This week is my first week of community health rotation. I am excited for this rotation because it will
be less stressful than my preceptorship and it is the last clinical rotation for nursing school. This week I
have been able to sleep at least 7 hours every night before and after work, school, and clinical. It has
also been helpful that our community health rotation has a later start and we don’t have be there until
8:00 am. This has given me a little bit more time to get the things I need to get done and go to bed at a
reasonable hour.

Comments on Activity:

I am excited that I am starting my last clinical rotation of nursing school. This has given me more
energy and motivation to push through.

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

This week Julia was able to implement meditation for 10 minutes every day this week. She has noticed
that she been very stressed because classes have all moved to online. She is also stressed out about job
applications and wondering if she will find a job during this time. She has been able to use meditation
during the day while she sits out by the pool. She told me that this has been very helpful for her and she
plans on continuing this intervention.

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

8
This week is spring break and I feel great. Taking some time off and letting my body relax has been a
much-needed reward for my hard work in the previous weeks. This week I noticed that I was still going
to bed at the same time and I was waking up much earlier than usual. I felt relaxed and that I had gotten
enough sleep even if it wasn’t 7 hours. This makes me realize how much stress really effects the body in
a negative way. It drains my energy and makes waking up for the day more difficult.

Comments on Activity:

Although I was able to sleep at least 7 hours a night for the majority of the days I believe that I will have
to do more while I am awake to prevent my stress for building up. This intervention has been a great
start to identifying what works for me and what doesn’t. Even though this is the end of the assignment I
am going to continue to try to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night.

Buddy Check-In Comments:

This week Julia has been stressed because of the coronavirus. She has become more self-aware of the
impact that nurses are making during this time and is excited to start her new career. She has been
implementing mindfulness every day to try and ease her nerves about the coronavirus and is optimistic
during this time that things will eventually get better.
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:

M O’C Fall 2018

 What did these activities teach you?

After viewing the Panopto presentation I noticed that there are many interventions that can be
implemented into my day will help decrease my stress and prevent burnout. The main takeaway that I
discovered during this Panopto is having a purpose when doing the interventions. If I just simply remind
myself what my goal is before going on a walk, getting exercise, or getting at least 7 hours of sleep I get
more of out the intervention. This also ties in with practicing mindfulness. Being mindful of the actions
I am taking and why I am taking them will be more beneficial to me than if I complete the interventions
without a goal.

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

During my 8-week intervention I started to notice the biggest change during week three. My body was
starting to recover from the exhaustion, and I felt more rested during clinical and the weeks to follow.
After the completion of my 8-week self-care journal I have been able to get more sleep because of the
stay at home orders. This has been helpful and has allowed to do additional things during the day to will
decrease my stress.

Will you do anything differently now? Please explain.

As stated above I believe that although getting at least 7 hours of sleep every night before and after a
work, school, or clinical day I will need to do more during the day in order to reduce my stress such as
mindfulness, getting exercise, or being out in nature every day. These things seem simple and I will be
able to easily implement at least one of these additional interventions into my daily routine.

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.

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
M O’C Fall 2018
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