N479 Professional Activity Evaluation Form

Your Name: Kathryn Williams Date of Activity: 10/14/2022 Faculty name: Laurie Santos

Describe the community service/professional activity/s you attended or participated with (be

specific about the purpose and your role):

I participated in a coursera class that talked about the science of well-being. This helped identify

any unwanted or unprovoked thoughts we have and how to alter those thoughts to help our

perception on overall happiness. Going into nursing, our feelings can have an impact on our

patients. By putting our happiness into perspective, while realizing what we identify as what may

increasing our happiness may not have as much of an impact as we think, we can control our

emotions. This will help with our own sense of self while being the best nurse we can for our

patients.

Where was this held and what was was program/activity length?

This program was held online through coursera and took approximately 12 hours.

Discuss the value of this experience to you (be specific).

This experience helped me focus a lot more on my individual happiness. It is hard to not

compare myself to others, especially in a rigorous program like nursing school. Even though the

program is almost over, there will be other aspects of my life where I can see myself wanting

more in order to be happy. Seeing the statistics that earning what you base your happiness off of

does not correlate to an increase of happiness was an eye opener. I can see all of the theories of

Revised 1/5/22 SLH

how to find happiness within yourself, but having examples helped a lot with this issue. Finding

internal happiness will take some time for me, but this course was a step in the right direction.

How will you continue to use this experience throughout your nursing career?

Nursing can be tough mentally in some situations. I have experienced this already especially

during my preceptorship after multiple shifts in a row and when patients would die. Using what I

learned, I will be able to shift my thinking into a more positive approach. Obviously, there will

still be tough moments, but I need to learn how to not let those affect me long term and how to

not compare myself to other nurses. We are all different people and I need to remind myself I am

doing the best I can for my patients and for my own mental wellbeing.

Would you recommend this specific community/professional experience in the future? Why or

why not? (Describe)

I would. This was an interesting course that anyone can benefit from. I believe that we are truly

our best selves when we are happy, so learning tips on how to stop internal conflict will help

anyone in a professional role. There is so much you can learn about yourself through this and

having that insight will help with patient care. Whether we see it or not, our moods are reflected

onto patients, so for their sake, it is important for us to be happy and positive the most we can

during a shift in the hospital.

Brochure or proof of attendance obtained if applicable?

Signature on validation of clinical hours form?

Revised 1/5/22 SLH