•    Omar has a passion for orienting new graduate nurses.  He never tires of precepting and is always a willing volunteer when there is a new graduate nurse to precept.  
•    Omar stands out as a preceptor because of his patience, encouragement and passion for teaching.
•    Omar seems to thrive in the learning environment and he never shows any signs of stress or frustration while taking a full load of patients and an orientee.
•    Not only does Omar excel in sharing and demonstrating his knowledge and skills, but he knows how to create a positive and safe environment for learning
•    He takes the time to listen. He doesn't simply answer the question asked, he makes connections and draws a bigger picture that helps you begin to think more critically. I was never afraid of asking a "silly" question or making a mistake because Omar always found a way to turn them into respectful teaching moments.
•    One of his orientees explained, “Omar shows his patients that he cares and has compassion for them in a different way than I am used to. He always puts the patient’s safety and well-being as the priority in their care.”
•    Omar forms strong, trusting relationships with his orientees. His orientees comment that he makes his patients feel safe and makes them feel safe as well. The new graduate nurses are able to increase their independence throughout their orientation, knowing that Omar is their safety net and always looking out for them.
•    Once the new graduate nurse is off of orientation Omar continues to mentor them.  Even if he is working on a different unit for the day, he makes the time to go check in on his former orientee to make sure they are having a good day.
•    Even now, over a year since my orientation with Omar, he still provides those learning moments. In our handoff reports, he still praises questions asked, provides constructive feedback, and compliments a job well done.
•    Omar listens to his orientees and adjusts his teaching style to their learning style.
•    Omar uses the resources available to him to optimize the orientation process including the progression tool.  Omar is not afraid to give constructive feedback that is direct, but also communicated in a way that is well received.
•    He truly leads by example with a positive attitude, respect for all, and a genuine passion for nursing.
•    His orientee best puts into words why Omar is so deserving to be recognized as an Extraordinary Nurse Educator: “Omar never sugarcoated the reality of working as a nurse in the fast-paced units B1/F1.  Understanding how vulnerably incompetent I felt as a new grad RN, he taught me the alphabet of the clinical side of nursing; how to lay out a plan for the shift after reviewing patients’ charts, how to chart, how to advocate for the patients, how to delegate, how to communicate with other interdisciplinary care team members, etc.  For example, Omar always asked attending physicians about the diet orders before patients returned from diagnostic testing, so these patients who had been NPO could order their meals almost immediately upon their return.  These are the finer details that Omar shared as I was progressing in my orientation.  When I forget to ask about new diet orders ahead of time for my patients and see my patients wait until their diet orders are updated, I hear a tiny voice in my head: ‘Omar would have done it already’ ”.
•    Also from one of Omar’s orientees: “After making a medication error, which I never imagined, I felt so hopeless.  I thought that I could be dangerous to my patients and be a liability to my team.  After completing my incident report, I told Omar that I wanted to go home.  He spoke to me calmly and at the same time firmly.  He said ‘This is different than working at retail stores or restaurants.  We are here to care for these people.  Their well being is our responsibility.  If you need to leave you can.  If you choose to stay, have your lunch before returning to work.  They are waiting for your care’.  These words served me like an anchor.  Without them, I would have drifted away that day, neither returning to the unit nor returning to even nursing.  Omar’s words helped me to reflect and reminded me why I had signed up for nursing.”
•    “As an orientee, Omar gave me confidence before I had any to give myself.  He is more than deserving of recognition for his immeasurable as a nurse and a preceptor”.
•    Omar’s love of educating goes beyond the nurses he orients.  Omar received a peer-written DAISY nomination: “Omar is one of my favorite nurses to work with.  He is incredibly passionate about his work and helping others.  He takes the time to explain what he is doing and why he is doing it to helps PCTs better understand what is happening with the patient.  He is very professional and has a wide range of knowledge.  I know it is going to be a good shift when I work with him.  He deserves to be recognized for his exceptional work as a nurse and coworker”.