NURS 478 Self Care Journal

Your Name: __Nic Lettera____________________ Your Buddy: ___Jennie Miller_________

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 started with doing a meditation session each day before bed. I followed along with some
YouTube videos from The Honest Guys that I have listened to before and like. I did this every day this
week for about 10-15 minutes, depending on what video I chose that day.

Comments on Activity:
I think this activity helped me fall asleep faster, and definitely allowed my body to feel ready for sleep
quicker than normal. I spent less time on my phone before falling asleep, which for me can be a big
reason why I don’t sleep as much as I should.

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time): This week was
2 my last week of preceptorship, so each day after clinicals I did a 15-minute mindfulness meditation
about gratefulness and what I had learned/was grateful for that day. I did this after each of my 3 clinical
days. I also did one on Sunday, but I forgot to do a full session on Friday/Saturday.

Comments on Activity:
Meditating about what I was grateful for that day really helped me to realize what I enjoyed about the
day as well as build confidence in myself. Thinking about what I did well in order to give me that
grateful feeling kind of acted as a snowball effect, and in turn made me feel good about what I was able
to do and demonstrate with my skills. My other meditations I just did in the morning to set my
intentions for having a good day. It felt kind of weird at first but I think that the more that I do it, the
better it will get.

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

This week Jennie tried to incorporate more yoga into her exercise, instead of doing solely hard
workouts. She told me how the yoga acted as a kind of buffer for the tougher exercise, allowing her
mind to take a break while still getting exercise. I thought that was really cool and lined up well with my
choice for mindfulness, and we talked a while about how having some time in the week to be mindful

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 and take a mental break is really important and beneficial to how you feel overall.

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

3 This week I was a little stressed about the exam and papers due. I took my time before starting my study
session to do some decompression mindfulness meditation, and also at the end of the night when
wrapping up to go over what I did. I did this in 10-minute sessions at the start and end of my studying 6
days this week.

Comments on Activity:
I felt that the meditation before helped me set clearer goals for what I wanted to accomplish during the
session. I noticed myself getting off track less and completing what I wanted with more ease. Debriefing
at the end helped me to notice and take pride in what I did get done, instead of focusing on what I could
have done which would just make me more stressed out.

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

We talked more about how the yoga sessions allowed for mindfulness, and her choice to do intense
aerobics on the other days allowed her to get in the hard exercise that she wanted. I told her about how I
spent my mindfulness sessions around school and using them to both set goals and be proud of the goals
I completed. I really like how she has found yoga to be both active and an outlet to be mindful, and I
think that I might start searching for a physical activity that can do that for me.

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

4 This week I started losing some motivation for school since I finished preceptorship, I felt a lot less
busy and found it harder to get the motivation up to do the things I needed to do. I focused my
mindfulness meditation on what I enjoy about nursing, and why I am doing the school that I have to do
in order to be able to work in the profession that I love. I did 10-minute sessions at the start of each day,
focusing on what I want to do and be in life, and how nursing school is going to get me there. I did this
every day this week.

Comments on Activity:
Thinking about why I am doing school and what it will enable me to do in the future caused me to be
more willing to get through the tasks that needed to be done. It made it easier to power through the
harder days. I felt that it was good to remind myself of my long-term goals and desires, because
sometime focusing so hard on the present can cause me to lose sight of the future.

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

This week Jennie had a really good workout, doing some harder yoga and strength classes. She said that
although it was different from what she had done in the past, she really enjoyed it and found happiness
in seeing a harder workout become more manageable. I told her about what my goals were for my
mindfulness this week, and she gave me some insight into how that is important to do every so often as
it enables you to always visualize the purpose for your actions.

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

5 This week we had reading days, so I focused my meditation on self-care and relaxation. Since we had
some days off from school, I wanted to use them to really reset and take some time to myself. Monday-
Thursday I did a 10 minute session at the end of the day thinking about what I did for myself today, and

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 how that benefitted me. On Friday-Sunday I focused my meditation on how the relaxed week was able
to reset me for the next week, and motivated myself to keep going.
Comments on Activity:
Focusing my meditation on these topics this week helped me to really establish what my self-care does
for me. I noticed that compared to other weeks, I felt as if the time I took for myself had a bigger impact
because I was taking these meditation sessions to really evaluate the impact it had on me. Before I
would just take my time off and not note down how it made me feel, so it was almost as if it didn’t
really have a benefit because I wasn’t acknowledging how the relaxation and free time effected my
mindset.

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

This week Jennie talked a little bit about how her cardio classes were taking away from her goal of
being mindful and breathing during yoga, but again mentioned that she is pleased with the progress and
changes she is seeing. I filled her in on my mindfulness exercises and how I found it just as beneficial to
acknowledge how your time off affects you as it is to acknowledge how your work and achievements
make you feel. She thought it was a good week overall and is excited to continue.

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

6 This week I focused again on relaxing before bed. I didn’t have anything that was specifically on my
mind or bothering me, so I decided to make sure that I got good sleep and actually went to bed once I
decided it was time to sleep. I did a 10-minute session every day right when I got in bed and turned my
lights off.
Comments on Activity:
I felt the same about this week as I did earlier, but I think it worked better this time because I had done
it before. It was much easier to fall asleep when I wanted, and I felt that I was actually sleeping better
when I woke up. I wasn’t as groggy in the mornings and felt more satisfied with the sleep that I got.

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

This week we both talked about sleep. For me I told her how meditating before I go to bed has brought
me easier and better sleep, and Jennie kind of talked similarly about her yoga and workouts. She has
noticed that during the days she works out, she wants to get to bed on time more, and finds that the sleep
she actually gets feels a lot more restorative.

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

7 This week again I didn’t have a specific thing that I wanted to address, so I decided to focus my
mindfulness meditations on myself and who I want to be in the future. I did a 10 minute session every
day, focusing on what I am proud of within myself, and what I can turn that into in the future.

Comments on Activity:
It is often hard for me to celebrate myself, and it is something that I have struggled with for a while and
began to work on in the past few years. It felt weird at first and I didn’t really like it much, but at the
end of the week I was starting to like it more and could definitely see how it would improve my daily
mood as well as my self-image. I think that it is worth trying more so I want to do this again next week
for my last week.
Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)

This week Jennie talked about how her new instructor also challenged her mentally, and made her think
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 about things that she had not given much attention to before. She talked about how in the class they
stressed how beneficial getting out into nature can be, and how it was something that she had not really
focused on in the recent months. I told her about my meditations, and how I was focusing on something
that I don’t do often, so it was interesting to see that we had somewhat similar intentions this week even
if it wasn’t really the same thing.

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

8 Again this week I focused on what I am proud of myself fore and how I can be even better and happier
in the future. I did the same format of a 10 minute session every day this week, celebrating my
accomplishments and the abilities I am proud of.

Comments on Activity:
This week felt much better than last week too, and I felt myself starting to be more accepting of the
feelings that come with celebrating your accomplishments. It still feels somewhat foreign to me, but I
think I am noticing how beneficial it can be. I think I will continue some method of doing this in the
future, as I think it can be really beneficial no matter what point in life you are at.
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?

I think that the biggest thing these activities taught me is that sometimes I just need to slow down and
reflect on my day or week. When things get crazy or I am feeling out of place, taking the 10 minutes to
reflect and meditate on what is bothering me or even just thinking about something I enjoy and letting
those good feelings arise was very beneficial to me.

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

I think the biggest change in my life that I’ve noticed through doing these interventions is that I am
sleeping better, and I feel a little less stressed in my day-to-day moods. I still feel a little awkward doing
it, but it has gotten consistently better throughout these 8 weeks, so I want to keep doing it. I think the
more I practice, the better I will get at it and I can learn to accept more and more of the benefits from
meditation.

Will you do anything differently now? Please explain.

The one thing that I will do differently now is try not to label the feelings and benefits I get from
meditating to only exist during that time. I think learning how to transfer these feelings and thoughts
into my normal day can benefit me greatly, and meditation could be a valuable tool to facilitate that. I
think that as I get more comfortable with accepting these meditations, feeling like that without
meditating will come easier as well. I think that I will also make it a point to do it a few times a week
for my own benefit, and not just because we have an assignment. I enjoyed doing it regardless, but I
think it will be really good to do it knowing that I want to do it for me, and not because I can also use it
for an assignment in the gradebook.

Comments/suggestions:
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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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