This past week has been stressful at work.  One of my coworkers is a very difficult person to work with.  She is passive aggressive, lazy, slow, and generally inept.  She finds problems where there are none and doesn't see problems where they do exist.  She doesn't trust anyone, believes she knows best always and wastes patients' time.  What gets me the most is her inability to admit or learn from her mistakes.  We all make mistakes but we acknowledge them and we learn from them.  She doesn't, so for the past eight years that I've worked with her, I have watched her make the same mistakes over and over and over again.  It's tiresome.  When I point out a mistake to her, she blinks and then nothing.  No acknowledgement, nothing.  She also doesn't pay attention.  The other day she asked when we had changed a process at work and I told her about a year and a half ago;  that's how long it takes her to notice anything.

Anyway, one of the young nurses got a job over in nuclear medicine.  It's a full time position which is what he wanted.  He was probably the youngest candidate but he will be fantastic for it.  I urged him to apply for it and I'm so glad he got the job, even though it means we will lose him.  His present position was only temporary.

My coworker had also applied for the job but she wouldn't have gotten the position.  Her shortcomings are well known and nobody wants her.  To save face, she pulled her application and at the front desk, told the young nurse this news, including the fact that she didn't want the job, it was a terrible job and on and on.  She shit on his parade.  I know it's sour grapes but it's rude and unprofessional.  She continued on with this theme this week.  She told him that if he can't cut it in the new position, he can always come back to his temp position.

When I hear this I get angry and I feel myself absorbing all of her anger and dissatisfaction which brings me down.  I've felt tired and grumpy this past week, unable to articulate what was going on inside my head.  I can feel my shoulders tightening up and with that comes a lovely headache.  Writing this out helps me understand it a bit better.  I have been absorbing her negativity without realizing it.  I imagine the same thing happened with my ex-husband and even my father, two very angry men.

I know I am responsible for my own moods but understanding how my mood is affected is useful information for me.  I will miss this young nurse very much.  He is such a good person.  He's kind, thoughtful, hard working, compassionate, knowledgeable and eager to learn.  He was like a breath of fresh air in our department.  He gave me hope which I didn't realize until now.

So life goes on.  Another lesson learned, another season passes.