NURS 478 Self Care Journal

Your Name: Madeline Gunnell Your Buddy: Kayla Killigrew

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.
X 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
The intervention that was completed this week was following one 45-minute virtually led yoga class
during the daytime and a 15 minute “wind-down” yoga class in the evenings before bed every day
during the week. In total, one hour of virtually led yoga classes were completed each day.

Comments on Activity:

I really enjoyed doing one 45-minute class each day as well as incorporating a short yoga/meditation
video at night. I felt that the longer yoga class during the day allowed me to participate in a form of
exercise and keep me active while the shorter class at night before bed helped me to wind down and
relax before going to bed. I noticed a decrease in my anxiety and felt that I slept better throughout the
night during the week leading me to have more energy during the days.

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

2
The intervention that was completed this week was following one 45-minute virtually led yoga class
during the daytime and a 15 minute “wind-down” yoga class in the evenings before bed every day
during the week. In total, one hour of virtually led yoga classes were completed each day.

Comments on Activity:

This week, I continued to enjoy incorporating the yoga into my daily routine. While I felt slightly less
motivated to continue with the yoga every day, especially if I felt tired, I noticed that after completing
the yoga, I felt motivated to be productive for the rest of the day. I enjoyed how accomplished I felt
incorporating the 45-minute yoga sessions in the daytime and how relaxed I felt after completing the 15-
minute “wind down” yoga at night.

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

Hi Maddie! I am so excited that I am able to be your buddy for the self-care journal. Having someone
M O’C Fall 2018
 to hold you accountable can be so helpful! Being able to incorporate different types of yoga in both the
morning and night can be stimulating and relaxing so it is great that you were able to complete both. It
is also good that you felt more energized during the day because the afternoon can really be difficult
sometimes.

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

3
The intervention that was completed this week was following one 45-minute virtually led yoga class
during the daytime and a 15 minute “wind-down” yoga class in the evenings before bed every day
during the week. In total, one hour of virtually led yoga classes were completed each day.

Comments on Activity:

I felt that it began to become easier incorporating the yoga into my daily routine as I finally have begun
to do the yoga out of habit rather than feeling like I had to. Additionally, I incorporated more stress
relieving yoga as a part of the daily 45-minute sessions compared to more aerobic yoga as I felt that I
needed extra relaxation this week. I continued utilizing my same 10-minute yoga wind down video
before bed but felt like it helped relax and ground me much more than in previous weeks.

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

Hi Maddie! Creating the routine I feel like can sometimes be the hardest part so props to you for it
becoming more of a habit rather than something you are completing for school. The world that we live
in today can be extremely stressful so that is amazing you found a good decompressing yoga video to
help relieve some of the stress you have been feeling. Yoga is so great because you can find so many
different forms so I am excited to continue to check-in with you to see what else you find.

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

4
The intervention that was completed this week was following one 45-minute virtually led yoga class
during the daytime and a 15 minute “wind-down” yoga class in the evenings before bed every day
during the week. In total, one hour of virtually led yoga classes were completed each day.

Comments on Activity:

I found it much more difficult to incorporate yoga daily during this week as I began my preceptorship
this week and found myself exhausted after completing my 12-hour shifts. While I made sure to
continue to incorporate the 10-minute wind-down yoga before bed, I was only able to incorporate the
45-minute yoga sessions on days that I did not have my 12-hour clinical shifts.

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

Hi Maddie! Starting your preceptorship is such a crazy time that it really is so difficult to think about
the other things. I am happy that you were able to acknowledge this and still got in some yoga during
the week to hopefully help you move your mind away from clinical and your patients. From what you
said this week, I noticed that you have really seen changes with your 10-minute wind down video so I
hope that is something you can keep doing there next few weeks to continue giving yourself a chance to
relax.
Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):

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 5
The intervention that was completed this week was following one 45-minute virtually led yoga class
during the daytime and a 15 minute “wind-down” yoga class in the evenings before bed every day
during the week. In total, one hour of virtually led yoga classes were completed each day.

Comments on Activity:

This week, I made a point to incorporate my 45-minute yoga session after at least one of my 12-hour
shifts this week in addition to continuing to implement the 45-minute yoga sessions on the days that I
did not have my preceptorship. I found it not as relaxing or enjoyable to incorporate after my 12-hour
shift because I felt as though I was forcing myself to do the activity rather than having a desire to do the
yoga like I felt on my days off. However, I still found it enjoyable to incorporate the 15-minute “wind
down” yoga video at the end of the day, especially after my 12-hour shifts, rather than feeling like it was
a job to do.

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

Hi Maddie! Good for you for trying to incorporate yoga into one of your 12 hour shifts! Like I said last
week, it can be difficult to perform activities outside of clinical on clinical days because we are still so
new to the field but that is really exciting you were able to push yourself. It is unfortunate that you did
not enjoy it as much so maybe that is something you can work on! I noticed during my self-care so far
that it is really important to listen to your body. So although you really put in the effort to push
yourself, maybe your body is not there yet and that is totally okay! I am happy you enjoy the 15 minute
wind down more than the 10 minute, I remember you saying that you were not sure about it.

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

6
The intervention that was completed this week was following one 45-minute virtually led yoga class
during the daytime and a 15 minute “wind-down” yoga class in the evenings before bed every day
during the week. In total, one hour of virtually led yoga classes were completed each day.

Comments on Activity:

This week, I found it much easier to incorporate the 45-minute virtually led yoga class after my 12-hour
shifts. I feel as though my body became more used to the 12-hour shifts this week leading to me feeling
less tired after my shifts were completed. I was able to come home and complete the 45-minute yoga
class on two out of the three days I worked 12-hour shifts this week, completed the 45-minute yoga
sessions on my days off, and continued to implement the 15-minute “wind down” yoga video before bed
each night. I found myself feeling more refreshed after each 45-minute yoga session this week and did
not feel like it was a task I was being forced to do, which really helped motivate me in other ways this
week.

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

Hi Maddie! Look at you go! That is so awesome that you got yourself to do yoga two of the three days
of clinical! From what it sounded like, you are starting to get more energy after your shifts and your
body is starting to adjust to this new schedule which you should be super proud of. I am happy that this
week went better for you with the 45-minute sessions and that you were back to feeling refreshed after
rather than tired.

M O’C Fall 2018

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
7
The intervention that was completed this week was following one 45-minute virtually led yoga class
during the daytime and a 15 minute “wind-down” yoga class in the evenings before bed every day
during the week. In total, one hour of virtually led yoga classes were completed each day.

Comments on Activity:

This week, I felt very motivated to complete all yoga sessions I had planned out for myself this week,
even after my 12-hour shifts. In previous weeks, I found myself feeling unmotivated to complete the
yoga sessions from the exhaustion I felt after my 12-hour shifts and doing the yoga felt more like a
chore rather than an activity I enjoyed and viewed as self-care. I feel like I finally created a routine for
after the 12-hour shifts that allowed me to be productive and get everything I wanted to get done before
bed that night, so I did not feel rushed to do the yoga this week. As always, I enjoyed implementing the
15-minute “wind down” yoga class before bed, even if I incorporated it immediately after the 45-minute
session as I feel that it helped relax me and reduce my anxiety before bed.

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

Hi Maddie! I cannot believe this is the last week of buddy check-in. It has been so great hearing about
your experience with the self-care journey you have been on. Like I said the first week, creating a
routine can be the hardest part and especially creating that routine with an ever changing clinical
schedule can be tiresome. This is something that you should be really proud of yourself for! I think, in
my personal opinion, I have noticed the wind down yoga helping you the best. You seem to be more at
ease and have not complained about sleep so I really hope that you can keep up with that after the
completion of this journal! It is great that you were not unmotivated this week and overall killed it.

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

8
The intervention that was completed this week was following one 45-minute virtually led yoga class
during the daytime and a 15 minute “wind-down” yoga class in the evenings before bed every day
during the week. In total, one hour of virtually led yoga classes were completed each day.

Comments on Activity:

This last week, I felt motivated to incorporate the yoga on some days and less motivated on other days.
I found myself very busy this week and sometimes overwhelmed but did not feel the need to incorporate
the intervention on the days that I felt overwhelmed. However, I felt that this method of incorporating
the yoga sessions when I felt motivated to do so made the self-care intervention more effective as I felt
more excited to do them again and felt a greater level of success after I completed.

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?

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 These activities taught me that it may be difficult at first to try and incorporate another thing to do in my
already busy life, but that I will feel great results if I keep up with the activities. At first, I thought it
was difficult to implement an intervention every day as I had wanted because it had not become part of
my routine. However, I know it takes longer than just one week to establish a routine, which I also
found to be true after having implemented the daily yoga for three weeks. These activities also taught
me that I should not try to force myself to complete them if I am not feeling motivated because they do
not act as a self-care activity and instead become more of a chore that I must perform.

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

Since I began this intervention, I have noticed that I feel much more energetic and refreshed throughout
the day if I implement the yoga sessions daily. Before implementing the daily yoga sessions, I was not
exercising as much as I used to, and I believe that it made me feel constantly tired and sluggish.
However, implementing the virtual yoga sessions allowed me to exercise safely at home every day and
helped me become more motivated to take care of myself physically and mentally. Additionally, I
really saw an improvement in my sleep and anxiety by simply implementing the 15-minute “wind
down” yoga session before bed each night. It has now become something I incorporate each night and
is something I look forward to each night.

Will you do anything differently now? Please explain.

I think I will try to implement a form of exercise every day, even if it is not yoga or is something as
simple as walking around my neighborhood. I really enjoyed the positive effects that implementing the
yoga had on my productivity and overall mood. I also now feel a desire to begin to implement other
forms of activity after having implemented the same form of exercise for so long. I also will not force
myself to work out in the future if I do not feel motivated that day and will instead try to listen to my
body to continue having exercise be a form of self-care rather than a chore.

Comments/suggestions:

I am very happy to have been able to have this be one of our assignments. I think it really helped me
understand the importance of self-care and just how much implementing something I enjoy doing could
have such a positive effect on my overall mood and feelings of productivity.

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

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 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

M O’C Fall 2018