Advice for Working With Someone...

[westieluv]

who looks for ways to throw others under the bus to advance her own career and kiss up to the boss?

I currently work in a small home healthcare agency office and there are only a few of us who are in the office all day together. I have been there for almost a year, and another employee who sits at the next desk has been there for just over a year. It seems that she is always looking for ways to make others look bad and like they aren't doing their job correctly in order to make herself look better. She is a self-appointed expert on everything and very bossy. None of the field nurses like her, but they hide it pretty well and don't have to sit in the office with her all day long like I do. I'm not crazy about this job, but it does have some perks, and I don't want to quit in such a short amount of time, mostly because I don't want to be a job hopper and a quitter, even though I have had a previous employer contact me and ask if I want to come back.

Has anyone here experienced this kind of work environment, and if so, how did you handle it? This person has no plans to go elsewhere and is hinting at wanting to run the entire office someday if the opportunity arises, at which point I know I would have to quit or lose my sanity and my patience! Any advice?