NURS 478 Self Care Journal

Your Name: _Maddi Eckert__________ Your Buddy: _Arianna Barragan Johnson______

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 9/15/18: 55-minute run
9/17/18: 50- minute run
9/21/18: 45- minute bike ride
Total exercise time: 150 minutes
Comments on Activity:

During this week I started training for a half marathon I signed up for in January. I had been running all
Summer with my dad, so it was a little different to start running by myself. For one of my runs this
week I was able to convince one of my roommates to come with me.

Heart rate was above 150 for the duration of all the activities. Average running pace is 9:45.
Week Description of intervention implemented this week (include frequency/length of time):
2 9/22/18: 55-minute run
9/23/18: 40 minutes lifting weights
9/25/18: 40-minute run
9/27/18: 20-minute bike ride
Total exercise time: 155 minutes
Comments on Activity:

This week I decided to try cross training by lifting weights in addition to my running. On the 22nd my
dad came to visit me for the weekend and we ran together on that morning. I realized that I enjoy
running better with other people rather than running by myself.

Heart rate was above 150 for the duration of all the activities. Average running pace is 9:45.
Lifting weights was focused on my back muscles to help prevent future back injuries.
Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)

Arianna and I both agreed that we had a good start to our self-care journal. She suggested that I try
running in different locations throughout Tucson to see different parts of the city. She also suggested I

M O’C Fall 2018

 try speed workouts so that I can increase my running time because I was saying how I want to get faster
at running.

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

3 9/29/18- 60 minute run
10/2/18- 30 minute run
10/4/18- 60 minute bike ride
Total Exercise time: 150 minutes
Comments on Activity:

I got bronchitis this week, so I did not run as much as I normally do. To keep up my endurance I
decided to ride the bike at the gym for an hour to get my heart rate up to keep up my cardio. It was a
good decision to stay close to the apartment because there were a few times I had to stop on the bike to
take a few puffs from my inhaler to open my lungs. I believe that the exercise helped me feel better
sooner from the bronchitis.

My heart rate stayed at a steady 130 for my workouts this week because I took things a little bit easier
this week than I have in previous weeks.
Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)

Arianna thought it was a good idea that I took it easy on myself this week because I was sick. She
encouraged me to stay close to home and still work out because I was so insistent that I need to run to
keep my endurance up.

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

4 10/6/18- 60-minute bike ride
10/8/18- 50-minute run
10/10/18- 40-minute run
Total Exercise time: 150 minutes
Comments on Activity:

This week I worked on getting my running distance up as well as working on recovery from having
bronchitis the week prior. To start the week, I ran 6 miles and ran shorter distances to just maintain my
endurance for a longer run the following week.

My heart rate was maintained around 140 bpm for my workouts this week. My average running pace
was 9:40.

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

Arianna and I discussed how the week had went and how I could start running more consistently to
decrease my running time. She suggested I make a running schedule and stick to it. She also suggested I
just follow my dads running routine.

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

5 10/13/18- 65-minute run
10/14/18- 30-minute bike ride
10/17/18- 45-miunte run
Total Exercise time: 150 minutes
M O’C Fall 2018
 Comments on Activity:

This week I included biking with my running because I was busier this week because of my
preceptorship. I read online that bike riding is a good alternative to running when running is not an
option. When running, I prefer to run outside because I feel that running on the treadmill is extremely
mundane and boring.

My heart rate was maintained at 140 bpm for the duration of all exercises this week. My running pace
was maintained at 9:40 this week again.
Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)

Arianna suggested that I should run and bike alternating. She also read an article online how this will
maintain my running endurance when running is not an option. We agreed that I was making positive
progress in my running.

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

6 10/21/18- 75- minute run
10/24/18- 55-minute run
10/25/18- 20-minute bike ride
Total Exercise time: 150 minutes
Comments on Activity:

Again, this week I increased my running distance to 7 miles. I did not run as much as I wanted this
week because my preceptorship was really wearing me out and when I got home from it, I usually
passed out. I still got out and ran and thought it really helped me clear my mind from preceptorship and
focus more on myself and not so much on the preceptorship hardships.

My heart rate was maintained at 145 bpm this week. My running time was slowed to 9:50.
Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)

Arianna thought it was a good idea that I run to keep a clear mind at preceptorship. I was expressing to
her how I was having a hard time when some on my patient’s had adverse outcomes from their
surgeries. She told me that the more I run and do self- care the better I will feel and she was definitely
right.

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

7 10/27/18- 50-minute run
10/29/18- 30-minute run
10/30/18- 20-minute bike ride
11/1/18- 50-minute run
Total Exercise time: 150 minutes
Comments on Activity:

This week I did more running that I usually do. I decided it was better to do shorter runs and get in the
miles rather that put off the runs and ride the bike instead. I felt a lot better just getting out and running
outside than riding the bike indoors.

Heart rate was maintained at 140 bpm this week during exercise. My running pace decreased to 9:40
this week.
M O’C Fall 2018
 Buddy Check-In Comments: (Note Key Comments from Conversation)

Arianna was very encouraging for me to get out and run. She could tell I was getting stressed out from
school and preceptorship and told me it was a good idea to get outside and run. Running outside helped
me destress and refocus on myself. Arianna was very helpful giving me alternative ideas for self-care
this week to help me destress.

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

8 11/3/18- 30- minute bike ride
11/5/18- 85- minute run
11/8/18- 50- minute run
Total Exercise time: 165 minutes

Comments on Activity:

This week I upped my running mileage to 8 miles. The run went well, and it was really nice to be
outside for that long. I was pretty sore after my long run, so I took a few days off after to recover and
then I did a nice and easy 5 mile run to help loosen my muscles. I was very happy with my running
progress after this fine week of my self-care journal.

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 I need to keep up with self-care in order to not get to invested at
work. It helped me destress and stay grounded when there were adverse outcomes at my
preceptorship. It truly taught me how important self-care is when it comes to overall health,
mind, body, and soul. I also learned that there is a lot more self-care activities I care do, not just
running.

Have you noticed any changes in your life since you began this intervention?
- After starting this self-care journal, I have noticed that I am less stressed and have better focus
when doing school work. This also helped me sleep better. After my workouts I noticed that my
mind was cleared, and I was able to fall asleep faster and sleep longer and deeper.

Will you do anything differently now? Please explain.

- I will not implement a running schedule and keep on top of it. I realize how important exercise
and self-care is to my overall health. It made me feel better about myself physically, as well as
mentally. It ultimately improved my mood as well.

Comments/suggestions:
- I felt that this assignment was very eye-opening and I really appreciated it.

Please rate how strongly you agree or disagree with these statements:
Following an evidence-based recommendation to reduce burnout was valuable to me.
M O’C Fall 2018
 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