NURS 478 Self Care Journal

Your Name: Saran Keita Your Buddy: Charin Begay

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 Sleep at least 7 hours per night before preceptorship

Sunday night before Preceptorship: Slept from 9 pm until 4 am (7 hours)

Monday night before Preceptorship: Slept from 9 pm until 4 am (7 hours)
Wednesday night before Preceptorship: Slept from 9 pm until 4:30 am (7.5 hours)
Comments on Activity:
During this first week, I had my preceptorship at Oro Valley Hospital on Monday, Tuesday, and
Thursday. The intervention I did was sleep for 7 hours every night after preceptorship. Since my
preceptorship was from 0530-1800, I adjusted my bedtime so that I would be asleep by 9 pm so I could
wake up at 0400 and get at least 7 hours of sleep. It was kind of easy for me to sleep a minimum of 7
hours after preceptorship because after coming back home, I was already very tired and wanted to get
ready for bed.
Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
2 Sleep at least 7 hours per night before preceptorship and exam

Monday night before Preceptorship: Slept from 9 pm until 4 am (7 hours)

Tuesday night before Exam: Slept from 12 pm until 10 am (10 hours)
Wednesday night before Preceptorship: Slept from 10 pm until 4:30 am (6.5 hours)
Thursday night before Preceptorship: Slept from 9 pm until 4 am (7 hours)

Comments on Activity:

This was my last week of preceptorship, and I also had an exam. I was able to sleep for 7 hours for two
of the nights before my preceptorship and then 10 hours the night before my exam since my exam was
not scheduled until 2 pm, which gave me more time to sleep in. I felt more relaxed this week since I was
able to get more sleep. I definitely think that I would have felt a lot more rested if I tried this
intervention at the start of my preceptorship.

M O’C Fall 2018

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

Since Charin and I are roommates, we were able to communicate face to face to discuss the progress of
our self-care interventions and hold each other accountable to our goals. Charin and I agreed that we
both would benefit from getting more sleep on the nights before our preceptorship. Charin is practicing
getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night before school for her self-care. However, we did talk about
how it was easier for us to keep each other accountable and remind each other about our set bedtimes
that we committed to.

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

3 Sleep at least 7 hours per night before classes

This week, I was able to sleep around 8-9 hours each day from Monday-Sunday.

Comments on Activity:
This week I did not have my preceptorship anymore, so I was actually able to sleep in for a longer time.
However, I did start my community health clinical, but it did not start until 0800 so I was able to fall
asleep by 10 pm and still get 8-9 hours of sleep.

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

Charin and I checked in with each other on Sunday. Since we both had our preceptorships in the first
rotation, we were able to catch up on our sleep debt and exceed our sleep goals this week. Charin said
that it was hard for her to get enough sleep sometimes because she would go to bed late like around 11
pm and still wake up early around 5 am because her body became accustomed to waking up early for
her shifts.

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

4 Spend up to 2 hours in Nature or longer per week

Monday: walked 3 miles around campus

Wednesday: walked 4 miles around neighborhood and campus

Total time: 4.5 hours total outside

Comments on Activity:
This week, I decided to go on walks through main campus and the health sciences campus on Monday
and Wednesday evenings. I was able to go on walks through campus with my roommate’s, one of them
being my journal buddy and we were able to enjoy the nature walks outside.

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

M O’C Fall 2018

Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
5 Spend up to 2 hours in Nature or longer per week

Thursday: 2.5 hours at Tumamoc

Total time: 2.5 hours

Comments on Activity:
On Thursday this week, I decided to go on a 2.5-hour hike at Tumamoc with my roommates. This was
my first time going on a hike and it was very challenging at first because it was an incline hike.
However, it was very rewarding afterwards.

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

Charin and I checked in with each other on Sunday evening and we both discussed how we felt more
energetic after our hikes together. We were glad that we were able to keep each other motivated in
following through with our interventions.

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

6 Spend up to 2 hours in Nature or longer per week

Tuesday night: 3-hour hike at Tumamoc

Total time: 3 hours

Comments on Activity:
This time, I spent more time at the top of the hike relaxing and practicing deep breathing and meditation
(partly because I was slightly out of breath from reaching the top of the mountain). I really enjoyed this
intervention this week because I felt very relaxed when I was done and also found myself sleeping well
that night and feeling well rested and energized the next morning.
Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)

This week I asked Charin if she has practiced two of her interventions at once or considered it and she
said that on our hike she actually did a 5 minute deep breathing exercise when we were at the very top
of the mountain. I told her that I did the exact same thing and it was nice to take in the fresh air and
beautiful scenery.

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

7 Spend up to 2 hours in Nature or longer per week

Friday: 2 hours walking around campus

Saturday: 2 hours walking around campus

Total time: 2 hours

M O’C Fall 2018

 Comments on Activity:
This week, I spent more time walking around campus again with my roommates because we wanted to
explore good locations to take our graduation pictures. We took one of my roommate’s dog on a 5 mile
walk around our neighborhood and then walked around campus.

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

This week I asked Charin if she would change anything different now that she’s been practicing her
interventions for almost a month. She said she wanted to focus more on getting more sleep since we are
starting to reach the end of the semester where assignment due dates are starting to pile up. I agreed and
told her that we should continue striving for at least 7 hours of sleep while also getting some nature time
and meditation into our days.

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

8 Sleep at least 7 hours per night before classes

This week I slept 8-9 hours every night from Monday-Sunday.

Comments on Activity:
This week, I had a lot of assignments to complete and Kaplan exams to prepare for, so I decided to sleep
for 8-9 hours per night from Monday-Sunday. I felt very well rested this week because I was able to get
an adequate amount of sleep that my body needed.
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:

1. What did these activities teach you?

These activities taught me the importance of making time for myself regardless of my busy schedule
and responsibilities. I realized that it is very important for me to build these self-care habits early on so
that I can continue to incorporate them into my daily routine in the future when I am a practicing
registered nurse. I also learned the importance of applying the integrative nursing principle of “nature
has healing and restorative properties that contribute to health and well-being” as well as “integrative
nursing focuses on the health and wellbeing of caregivers as well as those they serve” into my everyday
life. I was able to practice these principles through getting more hours of sleep each night and spending
at least 2 hours in nature each week. Lastly, these activities taught me how to manage my stress and
prevent burnout by creating a healing environment for myself.

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

I have noticed significant changes in my life since I started sleeping more and spending more time in
nature. From sleeping at least 7+ hours a day and spending 2+ hours in nature per week, I felt way
more well rested and energized than I did in the previous weeks prior to initiating the self-care

M O’C Fall 2018

 interventions. I also felt that I was able to engage more in my clinicals and lectures from practicing
these interventions.

3. Will you do anything differently now? Please explain.

From now on, I plan to adjust my sleep schedule so that I can wake up earlier and be more
productive during the day and then fall asleep at a reasonable time like around 9 or 10. I felt like I
was a bit more energetic on my days off during the weeks of my preceptorship because my body had
adapted to waking up around 4 AM. So instead, I started waking up naturally at 7 am and had more
time to do activities like catching up on lectures, assignments, and going on walks. I also plan to
practice meditating for at least 5 minutes a day three times a week to help with stress.

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

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