NURS 478 Self Care Journal

Your Name: _Alize Bowman__________________ Your Buddy: _Hannah Adame_______________

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):

● 2 Hours of professionally led yoga classes

Comments on Activity:

I completed this activity on two separate days throughout the week. I did about 1 hour each day. On the

first day, I completed yoga that focused on beginner moves and problem areas such as back pain, neck

pain, shoulder, and upper back. On the second day, I did yoga that was noted for detoxing and resetting.

I had been overwhelmed and emotional, so I felt like a reset video would be nice to do. It was difficult

and I had trouble completing some of the moves, but I gave it my best shot.

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

● 1 hour Thai yoga massage

● 2 hours outside in nature journaling

Comments on Activity:
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 For this week, I was gifted a one-hour session of Thai yoga massage from my friend's mother for my

birthday. Beyond this, I had also journaled for two hours outside in nature. For the yoga massage, I

found this to be very beneficial for self-care. I have never felt so relaxed and calm after completing a

self-care activity. It was also nice because my best friend was there too. I felt that having someone that I

am really close to beside me made the experience better, as I was not uncomfortable by being alone in

an unfamiliar environment. For journaling, I went and sat by the fountain and greenery area in my

apartment. I found the sound of the water from the fountain to be very soothing as it cleared my mind,

while I wrote down my feelings for the week. I found it easy to lose track of time as that area in the

apartment complex is very calming.

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

This week, Alize commented about how much she had enjoyed the yoga massage. It was interesting to

listen to her description of this process as I had not been aware that it had even existed. She explained

how overall it was a great stress relief which was a positive, but it also allowed her to have some social

time with her friend. Finally, Alize expressed how being in nature helped her relax. I enjoyed hearing

her explanation of her experience because I too find being in nature to be a healing experience. It sounds

like Alize had a successful, relaxing week implementing her new self-care activities.

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

● Mindfulness meditation at least 10 minutes everyday

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 Comments on Activity:

For this week, I decided to try mindfulness meditation 10 minutes every day as I wanted to see if it

would be a beneficial method for self-care before I began my preceptorship. I found out that I enjoyed

mindfulness meditation. I had tried box breathing in the past, but I had not been as consistent with

completing it daily. During this week, I did not have a set time that I completed the mediation

throughout the day. In fact, I found it was difficult to pick a time when I would complete it. This led to

completing the 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation randomly during the day each week. For next

week, I think it would be beneficial to try to be more consistent with the time I complete this self-care

activity.

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

I enjoyed having a conversation with Alize about her self-care interventions this week. I too did

mindfulness meditation throughout my self-care journal and found it to be very effective for myself. I

enjoyed hearing Alize’s perspective on how it affected her and the different types of meditation she

used. I’m glad to hear that she is listening to her body and trying to work out what works best for her.

This week may have been rough trying to figure out a schedule, but I am glad she had this week to trial

it and find out what will work best for her from here on out.

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

● Mindfulness meditation at least 10 minutes everyday

● Journaling outside for 30 minutes

Comments on Activity:

Because my preceptorship is on the horizon, I decided to complete more journaling near the fountain in

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 my apartment complex as this seems to be calming to me. I was able to stay outside and journal for

nearly an hour. I enjoyed writing down my feelings towards the upcoming preceptorship. It was nice to

acknowledge my fears for the upcoming 5 weeks, as I am normally one to suppress my negative

emotions. Beyond the journaling time, I continued to complete the 10 minutes of meditation daily. I still

have yet to complete this on a regular schedule. In fact, I find myself doing some of them mid-day and

some of them before I go to bed at night because I had forgotten to do the activity throughout the day. I

have noticed that I enjoy completing the mediation at night as it promotes me to sleep better. In

addition, it keeps me from looking through my phone right before bed, which I have noticed improves

the quality of my sleep.

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

I loved hearing about Alize’s experience journaling. It seems to be an activity that allows her to flow

creatively and clear her mind. I wish I could be as good at Alize at writing, but sadly that is not in my

cards. I believe the journaling really helped Alize prep for the upcoming preceptorship by allowing her

to really assess how she feels and be honest with herself. I was also glad to hear she decided to continue

with the mindfulness meditations. We are both hopeful this practice can help keep her centered and

relaxed when she begins her preceptorship.

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

● Mindfulness meditation at least 10 minutes everyday

Comments on Activity:

For this week, I completed 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation a day. I found this to be very

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 beneficial as I began my preceptorship this week. It was a self-care activity that I could complete during

the day when I felt most useful. During this first week of preceptorship, I completed some of the

meditation during the morning before the shifts and some at night. During my first day, I found it

beneficial to complete the meditation in the morning before my shift as it helped calm my nerves and

fears about being back in the hospital after such a long time. For night meditation, I still found it to be

helpful as it calmed me before I went to sleep. This allowed me to have a more peaceful night before my

next day’s shift.

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

Alize is sticking strong with the mindfulness meditation. I was happy to hear it fit well with her

preceptorship schedule. I am proud of her for completing her meditation before she went to her

preceptorship as I know I did not have that dedication for that because I was too tired. I am happy to

hear it helped her calm her nerves and recenter herself before going into the preceptorship. I am also

happy it helped her get sleep because that was one of the benefits, I was able to receive from the activity

and was glad it helped her too.

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

● Mindfulness meditation at least 10 minutes everyday

● Journaling outside for 40 minutes

Comments on Activity:

During this week, I completed mindfulness meditation and journaling in nature. I found meditation to be

most helpful at night as it promoted me to sleep more peacefully. As a result, I attempted to complete

the meditation during the nights before my preceptorship shifts. During the days I did not have my

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 preceptorship, I completed the meditation around midday as I felt like I wanted to get it over with, so

that I may focus on cleaning the house or other assignments. For journaling, I decided to write in my

journal on Friday after my doctor’s appointment. I found this to be advantageous, as I wrote about my

thoughts and feelings of my first two days during clinical. I found myself writing about trying to be

more confident and take more initiative throughout the next few weeks. Journaling near the fountain has

proved to be helpful in clearing my mind and gathering my thoughts. I did not journal for long as I only

sat outside for about 30 minutes.

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

I always love hearing about Alize’s journaling. It really sounds like a great outlet for her to utilize. It

sounds like journaling is a really useful tool for Alize to get all her thoughts out and organized so she

can create a solid plan about how she wants to make choices in her life. It seems to be a good way for

her to set goals and evaluate herself as well. I think doing it in nature allowed her to be more open and

thoughtful than being in a room that may make her feel more shut out and confined. It also sounds like

she had a good schedule set for completing meditation and that it has helped her relax and reflect during

the time she has been implementing it.

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

● Mindfulness meditation at least 10 minutes everyday

● Journaling in nature

Comments on Activity:

For this week, I journaled in nature because I was upset with myself about missing a discussion

assignment for my public health class. I was very upset with myself as I had lost track of time with my

preceptorship and other assignments. Because of my negative emotions, I felt as though journaling near

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 the fountain would be beneficial as it helped calm me in the past. This proved to be the correct decision,

as I was able to write out these negative thoughts and feelings and move past my mistake. In addition, I

created a clearer calendar to help keep me on track with assignments. I believe this helped my mental

state, as if I did not journal, I would have been hard on myself throughout the week for missing that

assignment. Beyond this, I completed the mindfulness mediation at night before my 12-hour shifts at the

VA, as it continued to improve the quality of my sleep. On days that I was off, I found myself

completing the meditation in the morning, as it helped motivate me to continue on with work for the rest

of my day.

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

It was hard to hear Alize get down about herself for a missed assignment. Nursing school is difficult and

at times can be overwhelming with all the different aspects of life we have to juggle. I was glad to hear

that Alize had a good outlet to help bring herself back to a positive light. I enjoyed hearing how Alize

had found something that had worked for her in the past and reimplemented it to recenter herself. It

sounds like she has found an activity that really helps bring her wellness that she may want to

implement past this assignment. It was also nice to hear the meditation continued to help improve her

sleep quality as we all know being rested is an important aspect of safe patient care. I am glad she is

able to tweak the times of the meditation as she sees fit to promote different aspects of her life.

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

● Mindfulness meditation at least 10 minutes everyday

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 Comments on Activity:

For this last week of my self-care activities, I completed my 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation

throughout the week. I completed these before bedtime every day, as I wanted to see how well it would

improve the quality of my sleep. I found that on days before the preceptorship, it helped promote a more

peaceful slumber. On days that I did not have the preceptorship the next day, I actually found the night

meditation to be disadvantageous. This is due to the fact that I did not always go to bed at similar times,

and I tended to be more tired some days from certain medications that I take at night. As a result, I did

not see the same effects each night that I completed the meditation, as it differed depending on the time

that I completed it.

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 is important to be kind and take care of oneself. Throughout my life, I

have always neglected myself for assignments or other people. This activity has taught me that by

focusing on myself, I can be better mentally, emotionally, and physically. In addition, I have learned

that it is important to care for oneself, as I will not be able to care for others if I am struggling myself.

Overall, I found that these activities taught me that I need to spend more time on myself.

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

Honestly, I have noticed many changes in my life. With the journaling, I have noticed that I have been

more forgiving to myself. I am the type of person to dwell on my mistakes, be harsh on myself, and

ignore when I need something. Due to these interventions, specifically journaling, I have found myself

to be more forgiving. In fact, I have not been so harsh on myself for missing an assignment and for

getting COVID from my preceptorship. In the past, I would have been very harsh on myself as I feel as

though I am burdening everyone by being sick or am a failure for missing an assignment. Due to my

journaling, I have been able to rationalize with myself that it is not my fault and that things happen in

life.

Will you do anything differently now? Please explain.

In the past, I was not one to focus on self-care or anything that promotes my well-being. In fact, I

usually focus on assignments and suppressing any negative emotions or thoughts. Through this

experience, I have learned that mindfulness meditation and journaling, especially in nature, are

activities that are very calming to me. For the future, I plan to continue meditation and journaling when

I am feeling very stressed out or having days with lots of negative emotions or thoughts. In fact, I have

been journaling in my house throughout my experience being COVID positive as it has helped me not

be so harsh on myself.

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.

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 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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