When I first started as a new grad nurse, I was very nervous and scared of being on my own, of course. I had my preceptor who was awesome and taught me how to work the floor and manage my tasks, time, etc. But we all know we are all still very nervous and never really, fully ready prepared to be on our own.

As a nurse, every day we grow and we learn. Our knowledge for nursing is forever growing each day and we can never really know everything because experience is where we slowly learn and grow from. When I was let off orientation there was always one person I could walk up to and never feel intimidated or feel embarrassed to ask my questions I often had as a new grad and who wasn't fully confident in herself and always nervous and wondering, "Am I doing it right?" "Am I missing something?" It felt never-ending and I knew I wasn't the only new grad feeling this way. And of all the nurses, AJ was the go-to person for us all, especially myself. He would kindly, and without any judgment, explain, reiterate things, and even demonstrate for me how to do certain tasks and skills. It was always a teaching moment and a sense of trust and comfort knowing what a great leader nurse was on the same shift as me.

It brought me comfort to know AJ was around the corner if I got stuck and needed help. He has, until this day, 10 months later, continued to be a helpful, caring, great leader for me and others, with a willingness to teach and such patience. I can honestly say I have grown so much in these months. And thanks to nurses like him, who give us inspiration and are passionate about patient care, nursing, loving what they do, we do who build great foundations for us new nurses, which to me means so much.