While at the National Holistic Nursing Conference, you attended a session about self-reflective practice and self-care. The presenter made a persuasive case about the value of keeping a personal journal. Now you understand that reflective practices increase self-awareness and personal growth!

You are excited to share your knowledge during the upcoming meeting of the Holistic Nursing Committee. In preparation for the meeting, you need to have a handout to share with the attendees. Ultimately, the handout will be distributed to the entire nursing staff at the Hospital.

Your handout should work its way from general to specific, cite evidence-based resources, and contain the following:

1. A definition of self-care for nurses.
2. At least 2 potential positive outcomes of practicing self-care in nursing.
3. A description of reflective journaling.
4. Include at least 1 method of reflective journaling.
5. Include at least 1 nursing scenario where reflective journaling can be used.
6. Include at least 1 personal scenario where reflective journaling can be used.
7. At least 2 potential positive outcomes of reflective journaling.
8. An explanation of 2 potential positive effects on self-care that reflective journaling can have for nurses.
9. At least 2 resources providing additional information about self-care for nurses. Explain why each is a good choice.

 

A definition of self-care for nurses.

• WHO defines self-care as "the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider".
• Self-care is any deliberate activity that we do in an effort to provide for our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. It is important for workers in every field, but especially for nurses, who spend their working hours caring for others.

At least 2 potential positive outcomes of practicing self-care in nursing.

• Self-care reduces stress, replenishes a nurse's capacity to provide compassion and empathy, and improves the quality of care.

A description of reflective journaling.

• Reflective journaling is an important tool which assists students or professionals in identifying and processing learning in the Field practicum setting. Journals provide an avenue for students to document what they are learning and to become more intuitive in their practice.

Include at least 1 method of reflective journaling.

• Write for yourself, and write every day.
• Be informal, using language you are comfortable with.
• Write by hand if you prefer.
• Write in your own language.
• Be relaxed and comfortable.
• Try sitting in different places and positions.
• Use diagrams and drawings

Include at least 1 nursing scenario where reflective journaling can be used.

• Reflective journaling is a comfortable medium for nurses to be more open about their journey and experience. Nurses can choose to write a scientific type of reflection, or introspective, that which relates to their thoughts, feelings and beliefs about their experience.
• Reflective journaling can also be a great way to map a nurse's progress and achievements in his or her nursing/clinical education as well as in their career. It lets them look back and analyse thought patterns, which in turn would help them to value their own learning and growth progress.
• This can be applied to the daily stress that the nurses encounter, especially when you reach the level of burn out due to the consecutive working shifts.

Include at least 1 personal scenario where reflective journaling can be used.

• Observe what is happening at the moment, as you make a particular decision.
• Is it working out as expected? Are you dealing with the challenges well?
• Is there anything you should do, say or think to make the experience successful?

At least 2 potential positive outcomes of reflective journaling.

• To understand the things that have happened.
• To reflect on why it happened this way.
• To align future actions with your values and lessons learned from your past experiences.
• To share and get your thoughts and ideas out of your head.

An explanation of 2 potential positive effects on self-care that reflective journaling can have for nurses.

• Introspection can help increase self-confidence, creativity and the joy of learning in an environment that is open, honest and nonjudgmental. This shows that reflective journaling is an important tool and a form of articulation for nurses to express themselves.
• It is important for workers in every field, but especially for nurses, who spend their working hours caring for others. Self-care reduces stress, replenishes a nurse's capacity to provide compassion and empathy, and improves the quality of care.

Step-by-step explanation

A reflective journal is useful for understanding and learning from a longer experience such as a course, a placement or time abroad. It lets you chart your development step by step and also look back across the whole period.

Reflection In-Action

When you are thinking about or reflecting while you are in an activity, you are using reflection in-action. Some reflection include:

• Experiencing
• Thinking on your feet
• Thinking about what to do next
• Acting straight away

Reflection On-Action

You can do reflect-on-action once the activity has finished based on what you can remember about it. Step back into the experience, explore your memory and retrieve what you can recall. Reflect and understand what has happened and draw lessons from the experience.

• Thinking about something that has happened
• Thinking what you would do differently next time
• Taking your time

Before the Experience

• Think about the things that could have happened.
• What are the things that you feel might be a challenge?
• The things that you can do to prepare for these experiences.

During the Experience

• Observe what is happening at the moment, as you make a particular decision.
• Is it working out as expected? Are you dealing with the challenges well?
• Is there anything you should do, say or think to make the experience successful?

After the Experience

• Describe your thoughts immediately after, and/or later when you have more emotional distance from the event.
• Is there anything you would do differently before or during a similar event?
• What are the takeaways from this experience/lesson?