A Wellness Moment with Chief Wellness Officer, Dr. Cheryl Giscombe
As we begin a new academic year at the SON, it’s a perfect opportunity to professionally or personally recommit to well-being goals. Let’s face it: achievement at anything is less meaningful unless we take care of ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
During this fiscal year, the Office of Well-being will be re-energizing our attention on creating restful, respectful spaces for conversation, movement, drop-in peer support, self-compassion, nutrition, self-management and other signals of healthcare. You could say that our guiding, primary objective is ensuring everyone knows they’re valued!
We know challenges will come up as we all intentionally re-commit to being well. For those times, look for the support–it’s there.
In closing, I want to encourage all of us to collectively prioritize wellness. Let’s focus on how we can support one another no matter what comes up.
Here’s to another year of renewed energy and commitment to health!
Warmly, Cheryl
A Farewell Message from Associate Dean for Collective Well-Being, Dr. Shielda Rodgers
As I conclude this chapter of my professional life at the UNC School of Nursing, it’s a moment for both celebration and reflection. I am immensely grateful, stronger, and wiser due to the time spent with all of you—students, faculty, and our ever-supportive staff. Wherever possible, I aimed to lead with care, wisdom, action, and decisiveness.
To the students, my hope is that I have helped nurture a deeper appreciation for life, along with its complexities, challenges, and moments of success. Remember, learning is a lifelong journey—so buckle up! There’s much more ahead!
To the SON leadership, fellow faculty, and staff, I hold the utmost respect for your unwavering commitment to training nurses and nurse scientists while upholding the school’s mission and values. Because of your efforts, students are empowered to lead the profession, create new knowledge, and deliver holistic, culturally sensitive care to all. This will undoubtedly be their legacy.
Lastly, the Office of Well-being has encouraged me to share a few words of wisdom with you, which I’ve outlined below. Feel free to adapt them or make them your own. I wish you all the best and a lifetime of wellness!
Look back to understand your next steps.
Honor the history that shapes your destiny.
Recognize the significance of your unique traits and story.
Expect challenges along your journey and persevere through them.
Ignore any inner voice that tells you to give up. Push forward! Persevere! You can overcome! For encouragement, listen to “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” by McFadden & Whitehead.
Don’t dwell on the past—live in the present and plan for the future.
Live well, everyone, and continue to seek wisdom from seasoned nurses!
Did you know that movement can significantly enhance both physical and mental well-being? Engaging in regular movement, whether through exercise, dance, stretching, walking or, running releases endorphins that boost mood and reduce stress. It also improves cardiovascular health, strengthens muscles, increases flexibility, and supports your weight goals. Consider incorporating movement into your daily routine by choosing activities you enjoy—this way, staying active becomes a pleasure rather than a chore. Remember, every step counts on the path to wellness and vitality.
The Office of Well-being has established Wellness Centers at both the Administrative Office Building and ITS Manning for exercising and/or meditation. Please take advantage of them, and let’s get moving!
Over the past academic year, the Office of Well-being has implemented a wide range of initiatives to support the physical, emotional, social, and mental wellness of the SON community. Here are a few highlights of completed wellness activities.
Movement & Fitness: Miles for Wellness Challenge; Fitness Centers at the AOB & ITS Manning buildings, complete with treadmills, weights, exercise bikes, and matts; Rock-climbing; Campus-wide Jingle Bell Jog; Participation in Chapel Hill Christmas Parade; Wellness on Wheels; Nature Walks; Dance Party
Mental/Emotional Wellness Support: Listening Sessions to reduce stress from new federal changes; Mental Health First Aid training for Staff; Resilience Training for Staff; Massage Therapy sessions during Workforce Wellness Week; Enjoying time at Chapel Hill’s Cat Tales
Nutrition: Healthy Eating initiative with NC State Government’s Human Resources Department; Farming experiences
Social Well-being: Farming for Flowers; Dance Party; Peer Support Messages shared at Faculty/Staff Gatherings.
In the simplest of terms, Office Ergonomics has to do with an office product (e.g., desks, chairs, phones, etc.) being the perfect fit for you! Trying to work with poorly designed office products can lead to unhealthy working conditions as well as the potential to jeopardize your wellness. There is a way to protect your health while working. View UNC’s page on Office Ergonomics to learn more about how office products can ensure successful productivity while safeguarding your health from back pain, shoulder pain, discomfort to your wrists, fingers, and so on.
The Veggie Meter ® is a non-invasive device that uses a special kind of light to measure carotenoid levels in a person’s skin. It is an objective measure of fruit and vegetable intake. Participants in the School of Nursing’s Veggie Meter Challenge will be supported to confidentially track their Veggie Meter levels throughout the 2025-2026 academic year. Our overall goal is to have fun as a community while collectively increasing our fruit and vegetable intake. Throughout the year, tips for increasing fruit and vegetable intake will be shared, including monthly fruit and vegetable bingo games (with prizes) to support our success.
School of Nursing Healthy Eating and Healthy Movement Bingo Game Breaks (dates and times TBD); BYOL and stay for an opportunity to win prizes!
School of Nursing Wellness Spaces
Welcome to the SON’s Wellness Spaces! These are spaces created just for you—to exercise, relax, slow down, meditate, reflect. So, take a moment out of your day and come in and make yourself comfortable in these spaces of care.
AOB
LeVine Wellness Exercise and Relaxation Room
Wellness Rocker
ITS Manning
LeVine Wellness Exercise and Relaxation Zone
Meditation, Reflection, and Lactation Room
Mental & Emotional Wellness
Feeling stressed and need quick relief? Try the Breathing Space Meditation — a simple, evidence-based technique designed to help you manage stress in the moment.
Click here to listen to a guided audio session. Then follow the illustrated guide. Take a moment. Breathe. Feel the difference.
Purpose & Growth
Gratitude Journaling
What is gratitude journaling, and how is it connected to wellness? To begin, it is a practice of shifting your focus from what you lack to what you have—support, family, circle of friends, gifts and talents, positive relationships. It’s a matter of tracking and writing about the positives that are happening in your life, without regard to the size of the positive circumstance.
While there is no right or wrong way to journal, it is simply a good idea to write about it. So, if you do not want to add a narrative, just list the positive things that have been going on. Doing so may help reduce stress or relieve anxiety. For further guidance on gratitude journaling, check out these links: Do Gratitude Journals Really Work? & Gratitude: How Do I Cultivate It?
Many of us want to be financially set for life. In fact, we do certain things on a regular basis to ensure financial stability upon retirement, which is just around the corner for some and a long way off for others. Regardless of your employment status, you work to be in a position where you can comfortably meet your financial obligations. Which is what financial well-being is all about. It’s planning for the expected as well as the unexpected while staying on track to meet financial goals.
Financial well-being does not happen overnight. It’s evolutionary and intentional at the same time, necessitating a commitment to key strategies that build financial security.First, create a realistic budget to track what comes in and what goes out. This tracking system is vital to your identifying what can be eliminated from the budget to help you save money. Vitally important to building a budget is making sure to include an emergency fund. Let’s face it–things happen that are out of our control. An emergency fund can serve as a cushion to the unforeseen.
Investing wisely and planning for retirement are crucial to financial well-being. There are many investment options out there and navigating them is challenging. This is where CAPTRUST may be helpful. This investment firm works with UNC employees on financial management to build wealth, including managing debt to alleviate financial stress. CAPTRUST’s advisors can also point you to other advisors that help keep you informed of economic trends so that you can make wise decisions where your financial future is concerned. You can learn more about CAPTRUST at Retirement Plan Representatives – UNC Human Resources
Balancing work and personal life is not easy. Yet it is crucial to maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle. Similar to creating financial wellness, establishing a work-life balance is intentional. For starters, it involves setting boundaries to ensure that neither dominates the other. However, prioritizing what is important to one person is going to be different for others. So whatever you set as a boundary–stick with it! It will make all the difference to achieving balance between work and personal living and enjoying a less stressful life. While at work, make time for breaks. Take advantage of the fitness centers at either the Administrative Office Building or ITS Manning. When you are at home, set aside time for hobbies, walks with your pet or family and friends, complete an exercises routine. Or, audit a class at a local community college or community center. Whatever you decide to do, make sure it’s enjoyable and brings you contentment.
Communicate openly with your supervisor. Share your need to have a work-life balance and what you would like to do to achieve that during work hours. Assure them project deadlines will not be impeded by certain adjustments to your work life. Stress that the support you receive from them is crucial to achieving a less stressful life.
Finally, remember that achieving work-life balance won’t be day-to-day perfection. Some work or life activities will simply require more time than others. Nevertheless, keep practicing setting and adhering to boundaries. You may want to think about setting a hard-stop to work hours, where at that time your work stops and your personal life begins. This may also help keep the two from intersecting.
Your self-care is important. Embrace it without reservation. You need to be well and to stay well. Creating harmony between work and life can help you achieve wellness.
Some content was generated with AI technology and reviewed for accuracy.
Helpful Resources for Wellness
UNC Wellness Centers: High-end fitness facility that adds a variety of clinical, health education, wellness, disease management
Virtual Events: OSHR Statewide Wellness Webinars that help you improve your mental and physical health, with nutritious recipes, topical health and safety information for your mind and body.
NC State Health Plan: For State employees to learn more about their health coverage and other.
Head Space: A mindfulness app, Headspace’s Mission is to provide ever person access to lifelong mental health support.
UNC Human Resources Events: Stay connected with Wellness Wednesday Webinars. These Webinars are most Wednesdays at 12pm. Registration closes 24 hours before each session.
Loving KindnessApp: This app is based on research and supports users to embrace compassion and nurture positive emotions.
NC DHHS: North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services offers various resources from free vaccines, tood support, healthcare, to a system support for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities (Inclusion Connects)
Jessica’s Cupboard: is a food pantry located in the OSA Suite (2800) at ITS Manning, in a back corner. It’s open 24 hours a day for anyone with access to ITS Manning building. Donations can also be dropped off to Lily Aussieker or Chanel Watkins.
None of us should have to struggle alone. So, if you’re experiencing difficulties, reach out. Someone will reach back. Students can reach out to the Office of Student Affairs or contact UNC CAPS at (919) 966-3658. Faculty and staff have access to the Employee Assistance Program at (877) 314-5841 24 hours a day. These are confidential resources!
Available Courses for Students
Are you a nursing or health professions’ student who is interested in learning more about mindfulness and self-compassion? N620 – Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Training for Caring Professions may be just the right fit for you.
Course Description
This experiential, evidence-based elective introduces students to mindfulness and compassion practices rooted in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) curriculum and other approaches like loving-kindness meditation. Students will explore how these practices are applied in clinical and community settings, examine the scientific evidence behind their effectiveness, and participate in weekly class sessions and two half-day retreats to cultivate self-care and resilience.
Purpose
Designed for health-professions students, this course aims to enhance well-being and resilience through mindfulness and self-compassion. Research shows these practices can reduce anxiety, depression, stress, and burnout, while improving life management and emotional resilience.
