Charge Nurse didn’t talk to me the rest of the shift.  I was okay with that.  She was wrong for what she did, and I told her so.  If she wanted to sulk, so be it.

We have a new housekeeper, and she is great.  Patients love her.  The station looks better than ever.  Even our lounge is shining.

She had just finished wiping down our station’s counters when Charge Nurse came back in to sit at her computer.  CN immediately whipped around and started complaining to the housekeeper about the wet counter tops.  Didn’t she realize all our papers will get wet?  Doesn’t she know to wipe over the counters again to dry them?  Doesn’t she know how to do her job?  Over and over again.  She was bitchy and rude to the extreme.  The housekeeper just stood there.  I was standing near by the charts.

I must have been making a face, because CN looks at me and says, “What?  What did I say?  Did I say something wrong? Am I just supposed to kiss butt? What? What did I do?”

I felt a bit stuck, because I wanted to call her out on being a bitch, but I also didn’t think it was appropriate to do that at that time.  I just said, “CN, she just wiped down the counter tops with the alcohol wipes.  It’s probably dry now.”  And it was.  The housekeeper just left quietly.

After the housekeeper left, I came closer and CN repeated her questions.  “You were unbelievably rude.  That lady is new here and does a great job.  There was nothing wrong with the counters.  They were dry by the time you finished verbally assaulting her.  You owe her an apology.  Don’t you dare run off our good help.”

Debbie came around, and I told her what happened.  She went to find the housekeeper to talk with her.  Apparently CN had repeatedly treated her like this, and the housekeeper was ready to quit.  Great. The worst of it is that CN seems to truly believe she did nothing wrong.

I like CN.  I really do.  I know better than to take anything she says to me seriously.  Most of the time her cluelessness makes me laugh.  This time she crossed a line.