As I start a new journey as a newer nurse from a med surg floor to a cardiac step down unit, scared and anxious I found out fast that my preceptor would soon become a long time friend. So the journey begins..

When you get out of nursing school you soon realized that NCLEX world is so much different then the nursing world. And you will begin to see how amazing a nurse is that precepts a new nurse. It takes a very patient person to deal with us new grads I must say. All the questions we ask, all the time it takes to teach us each step of every skill. The answers to all the why we give this medication and why are we doing that.

So I would like to say that throughout my orientation I found not just a preceptor, but I found my mentor, a colleague and a friend. And better yet I found the nurse who made me fall in love with my job even more. I am forever grateful that for me she provided a safe environment free of hostility and judgement but one conducive of teaching, learning, and growing. I ended my orientation with many of her nuggets of knowledge and the confidence to know that I am on my way to becoming the nurse God created me to be! I only hope she knows how truly special she is!

So, to the nurse who made me fall in love with nursing, with your years of nursing, I know that you have come across many orientees. I know at the beginning I was just another nurse but now were coworkers and we are friends. You have razor sharp intelligence to say the least! Your warm heart and compassionate heart have helped mold me into the nurse I'm called to be. I believe that the worse part is transitioning into that real nurse role from being a newer nurse and still having the student nurse nerves and jitters. No amount of studying could prepare me for the real world nursing. The process of the transition is painful at times. For this I'm so thankful for all that you have done to get me through that "storm". Thank you for being my battle buddy. It takes experience to transition into that real nurse world. There are so many things that nursing school just can't prepare you for. Your first patient death is something that no amount of teaching or schooling can prepare you for. We know that nursing is more then just passing meds and listening to lung sounds, it is about being there for your patients when they are at there weakest and gaining a personal relationship with them and when you lose one of your "family members" it sucks. A part of you dies off with them but of course you have so many more patients come into your life to refill that empty hole and remind you that you do what you do for a reason. It is essential to have an amazing team of co workers and for me I am blessed to work with the best nurses. I am forever grateful my preceptor was there that night too. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge with me. Thank you for showing me how to prioritize in the real world and explaining that not everything Is a crisis. Thank you for not making me feel absolutely incompetent for asking silly basic questions all the time. You are so knowledgeable that it amuses me and I am always ready to learn from you. Thank you for comforting me when I want to cry in front of my patients but instead helping me through it, all the tough times. Thank you for showing me what it means to be a patient advocate and always standing up for your patients. You are the true definition of a nurse, always giving the best care to your patients. Thank you for giving up all those moments of down time that we did have to help me better understand everything, including those tele strips. Thank you for reminding me that every error or mistake is taken as an opportunity to grow and learn from. Thank you for always pushing me, for giving me just enough water to feel uncomfortably independent but not enough to be drowning. Thank you for reminding me that this part in my career is much like a puzzle, the pieces are there but figuring out how they fit together will come with time. Thank you for all of your patience you have given me. Thank you for always showing me what it means to be a true nurse, one who loves there patients with their whole heart and it shows, one who is truly committed to there job and there co workers, and the one who cares like there is no tomorrow. You have shown me what I hope to become as a nurse, you have made me fall in love with this profession so much more just by watching you care for your patients and change all of there lives. You have been my own personal cheerleader, when I am struggling with anything you motivate me to keep going and to keep trying. You praise me when I catch something and do something right. You provide comfort to me when I need it and you know exactly when those times are. You care not only about your patients but also about your team members.

With this I must say, you were so right all the tears, doubts, and frustrations are all worth it when the patience tells you that you were the calming presence in a scary situation. To me you are the nurse who has confidence, peace, compassion and patience. All of which I have prayed for in a preceptor. I thank God for guiding such an amazing nurse, preceptor, friend, and mentor into my life! You are the role model that I will forever look up to no matter where life takes you! Thank you for helping this turtle come out of her shell. I pray that one day I can provide a scared nurse the same guidance you have given me! So thank you for being you and being the best nurse.

Most importantly, thank you for making me fall in love with nursing so much more. Here's to the new start of this amazing nursing journey!