NURS 478 Self-Care Journal

Your Name: Madisyn Holcomb Your Buddy: Lynda Attalah

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 I made sure to sleep at least 7 hours per night before and after class days and my
preceptorship shifts.

Comments on Activity:
I felt much more prepared to go into class and into the hospital after actually getting a
decent amount of sleep and it made me feel like I dreaded waking up and going in
less.

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

2 time):
I tried to sleep at least 7 hours per night before and after class days and my preceptor
shifts.

Comments on Activity:
I decided to do this intervention again because it made such a huge difference in my
mood and outlook for the entire week. I felt so prepared to jump into my
preceptorship shifts and I didn’t feel as much like I was having a hard time staying
awake during class. I can actually see myself making this my intervention for the
entire eight weeks because I’ve noticed such a huge difference and sleep is usually the
area that I struggle the most with.
 Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)

“I think it is great that you have found a way to restore your energy. Working night-
shifts sounds like a difficult commitment to make when you have a lack of sleep. I
think it is great that you have found how many hours work best for you. I would
recommend trying to stay consistent with your sleep hours if you could do that on
your days off!”

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

3 time):
I practiced mindfulness meditation for 10 minutes everyday this week.

Comments on Activity:
I actually found this activity to be kind of hard to do, mainly because the thought of
slowing down enough to do it felt impossible. I tried to do a trick that I learned in
high school as my mindfulness meditation- the one where you flex then relax the
muscles in every body part you can, slowly moving down your body. I found it to be
really relaxing after I finished even if I initially had a hard time initiating it. It made it
to where everyday had at least a little bit of calm in it which was really nice.

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

“I also find it hard to initiate mindfulness and meditation. I think that it’s a great way
to relieve distress in the moment when you are caught in a busy day with very little
time. I am glad you found a way to continue the process, I will try the trick to help me
initiate it more often as well!”

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

4 time):
I practiced mindfulness meditation for 10 minutes everyday this week.

Comments on Activity:
I put more effort into implementing this activity this week because on the days that I
was able to do it last week it felt like it really helped. I did the tense then relax
 muscles trick again and it really helped decrease my anxiety, especially with all of the
exams that are coming up soon.

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

“I am glad you were able to try again , and find a calm to ease your anxiety! Good job
on finding what works for you to distress before an exam. I am glad you have been
able to find what works for you.”

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

5 time):
I tried to sleep for 7-8 hours everyday that I had clinicals or class this week.

Comments on Activity:
This week I wasn’t able to accomplish this intervention everyday. I felt like I had so
much to do that spending that much time on sleeping everyday before clinicals and
class felt impossible. I felt like I was running around all week for class, preceptorship,
and everything in my personal life so I didn’t get as much of a chance to take care of
myself.

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

“It feels difficult to try and get a consistent amount of sleep hours on a consistent
basis, I can understand how being in preceptorship made you feel like you had no
time to sleep the full 8 hours. I hope you can continue to do this to feel your energy
restored.”

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

6 time):
This week I tried to spend at least 2 hours total in nature for the week.

Comments on Activity:
This intervention was actually easier than I thought it would be to implement. I ended
up spending around 45 minutes outside for 3 days this week and it felt like a much
needed reprieve from school. I went outside to my backyard (so nowhere crazy) and
 sat in the sun, played with my boyfriend’s dogs, and relaxed with my boyfriend. It
was a lot more relaxing than I thought it would be and it is something that I can see
myself doing again in the future.

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

“That is a simple and fun way to spend some time in nature and still get to relax with
the ones you love! I hope you can do this more often!”

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

7 time):
I tried to sleep for at least 7 hours before school and work this week.

Comments on Activity:
This implementation felt like it was easier to achieve this week. I actually got 7-8
hours of sleep everyday this week and I felt really motivated and energized for once- I
was able to get a bunch of homework done and even get a little ahead in classes!

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

“I am glad you are able to feel motivated and get enough sleep on a daily basis this
week! It is important for your self-care to get enough sleep and ensure you are well-
rested for the rest of your week!”

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

8 time):
I tried to get at least 7 hours of sleep each day that I had school or work this week.
Comments on Activity:
I tried this intervention again this week because of how great it felt to actually put an
effort in to get sleep last week. It felt really nice getting a lot of sleep and I didn’t
have a lot of trouble trying to stay awake during classes this week which is something
that I usually struggle with. The only night that I had a hard time getting 7 hours of
sleep was the night before work since I work early mornings but the next morning
when I was at work I was so grateful to myself for actually going to bed early.
Overall, this has been the best intervention for my mental health and wellbeing these
past 8 weeks and I’m glad that I chose to do this so often.

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 taking care of myself really makes a huge difference
in my mental health and my physical health. I also learned that possibly one of the
biggest stressors in my life is caused by or contributed by not getting enough sleep
and that getting more sleep makes even my worst days seem so much less
overwhelming.

Have you noticed any changes in your life since you began this intervention?
I’ve noticed that since beginning these interventions, I have been so much better with
keeping up with school work and different things that have to be done on my days off.
I’ve also noticed that I feel like my health has been better and that I’m in a good
mood so much more often than not which has really helped my personal relationships.

Will you do anything differently now? Please explain.

I will definitely be prioritizing sleep over some of the leisure activities that I would
always do instead of going to sleep at the proper time of night. I can also see myself
doing mindfulness meditation more frequently, especially on days that are a bit more
stressful or upsetting. I can see myself implementing these two interventions more
than the others because these are the ones that I felt had the biggest impact on my
mental health and I know that my mental health is something that needs to be taken
care of once I graduate and become a nurse.
 Comments/suggestions:
I really enjoyed this assignment and feel like it actually made a difference in how my
semester went!

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