NURS 478 Self Care Journal

Your Name: Kayleigh Alegria Your Buddy: Lauren Sitler

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
Beginning taking weekend yoga classes is very exciting. For this self-care journal, I am doing hot yoga
for 2 hours and with my schedule, I’ll just be completing these interventions on the weekend—Saturday
and Sunday.

Comments on Activity:

I actually took my first yoga class before starting this self-care journal last week to get an idea of the
studio and what hot yoga is like. For this first official week of the self care journal I am feeling great! It
is quite an adjustment for my Sunday class to get up early, but after both classes I felt refreshed and
relaxed.

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

2
This weekend, between Saturday and Sunday, I was able to do 2 hours of yoga class, and my boyfriend
got to join me for my Sunday class.

Comments on Activity:

Yoga this week was extra challenging, the poses and flow were physically tough, and trying to stay
focused on breath is quite a challenge, but I love it! I got to bring my boyfriend to one of my yoga
classes and he had such a great time. I really feel like doing these classes is showing my body
appreciation, love and care.

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

My buddy and I talked about how trying out these new interventions has been challenging, and we’re
both new to exercise/yoga, but it has felt good and refreshing to push ourselves.

M O’C Fall 2018

 Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
3
This week I am continuing to take yoga classes on the weekend days, for 2 hours. One of my yoga
teachers commented this week on how much my yoga practice has grown in just a few weeks.

Comments on Activity:

Even though the last thing you’re supposed to feel is nervous about going to yoga, I remember feeling
that way the first week I started, and although I tried not to compare myself to other people I did
originally. This week I am feeling more centered, and comfortable in my yoga practice, and my teacher
said it shows!

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

My buddy and I talked about how it is nice to have other people work with you to do your interventions,
especially doing something like exercise.

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

4
This weekend I completed my usual two hours of yoga classes at the studio.

Comments on Activity:

Going to yoga this weekend was very enjoyable. It really helped me relax with all that has been going
on with school, and I am starting to feel much stronger as I move through different yoga poses and
flows. I didn’t expect to feel such an increase in strength, and it has really been helping my low back
pain.

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

This week my buddy and I talked about how it is good to develop a routine and stick to goals. My
buddy talked about she integrated exercise 3 times separately and it motivated her.

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

5
This week I resumed my self-care of weekend yoga classes for two hours, after not doing yoga last
Saturday and Sunday because I was away for spring break.

Comments on Activity:

I was surprised this week by how much more challenging yoga was this weekend, compared to the last
time I went to the studio after having time off from my practice. Even though I feel rejuvenated
following classes, during class I noticed that my flow and strength was different this week. It felt nice to
return to my normal routine.

M O’C Fall 2018

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

This week my buddy and I talked about having to change up routines with the heat. I told my buddy
how it was harder to get back to yoga after taking a weekend off.

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

6
This week I did two hours of yoga classes between Saturday and Sunday, as per my normal schedule.

Comments on Activity:

I noticed this week was more challenging for me, and I think it was because my sleep has been as good
lately. Also I am still having some sinus/upper respiratory symptoms that can make poses like
downward dog uncomfortable. What I realized this week though, is that yoga is helping me feel more
attuned to my body and what it’s trying to tell me.

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

This week my buddy and I talked about changing up exercise types, and locations. I think it is good to
vary where you do a workout, it keeps it from being boring in my opinion. I told my buddy how this
week I felt more aware of what my body is trying to tell me, and I think yoga is responsible for that!

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

7
This weekend, I decided to go to Phoenix following the end of my preceptorship and wouldn’t be able
to attend my usual yoga classes. Instead, I had to implement a back-up self-care intervention of
mindfulness for ten minutes, every night before bedtime this week.

Comments on Activity:

To be honest, I think my mindfulness did not make a significant difference in my mood, focus or stress
during my last three days of preceptorship that were back to back. However, I continued to practice
mindfulness before bedtime for the rest of the week, and I feel like I had more success with feeling like
the mindful meditation helped me and grounded me.

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

This week my buddy and I talked about trying new workouts or playing a sport for exercise and I said
that was a great idea. I told my buddy how I had to change my intervention for this week because I was
out of town, but I wanted to achieve the same thing that yoga does for me using mindfulness!

M O’C Fall 2018

 Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
8
For my final week of the self-care journal, I did two hours of yoga this weekend at the usual studio I go
to.

Comments on Activity:

This week there was a substitute for my Sunday morning class and I think it was very beneficial to see
how other instructors can have a totally different spin on a particular class. I learned a lot from this
teacher and felt very good about where I am at in my practice. I can’t wait to keep doing yoga.

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 self-care activities showed me truly how much I have neglected myself and how awesome it is to
take time for yourself, and how much of a difference it can have on your overall daily attitude.

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

I think I implemented yoga at the perfect time in my life, because this last year of nursing school has
been the hardest year of my life, both academically and personally, but I feel like since starting yoga I
have an outlet to look forward to and kind of reset my body and stress levels weekly.

Will you do anything differently now? Please explain.

I will definitely keep practicing yoga on a weekly basis, and I even want to try other types/variations of
yoga. Maybe one day I will be advanced enough in my practice and learn new poses at home/on my
own.

Comments/suggestions: N/A

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.
M O’C Fall 2018
 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