I am a nursing student going into my senior year at a university for a BSN degree. This summer, I am working at a hospital as a nurse intern and I absolutely love it so far. Everyone is SO nice and helpful (except one rude nursing assistant). My first couple hours on the unit, I answered a patient's call light who was calling because he urinated in his bed. His johnny was completely soaked in urine so I found an extra one in his room and helped him change into it and I also changed his bed sheets and pad. I thought I was helping the nursing assistant out. But, an hour or so later she told me and my preceptor about some person who changed her patient into his clean johnny before she could wash him up and was complaining because that person used the "nice johnny" but she was talking some serious ****. I blatently said, oh that was me omg I'm so sorry about that (I have no problem owning up). I told her, his johnny was completely drenched with urine and I didn't want him sitting in that so I changed him. She literally told me, well you should've left him in it until I had a chance to wash him up. I was thinking lady are you serious? As a healthcare team we should always strive to preserve human dignity. Talk about degrading...being forced to sit in your own urine (he was embarrassed as it was).
Anyways, she rubbed me the wrong way after that situation but I brushed it off. I though well I really have to suck up to her and she'll like me. So I started saying thank you so much for the smallest things and told her how awesome she was. Today was my fourth day on the unit. I was in a double room talking with my patient when the physical therapist was with the other patient. The physical therapist helped the patient use the bed pan and then she told me that she would put the bed pan in the bathroom so that it could be measured later. In a few minutes when I saw the nursing assistant I said, "Hey just to let you know the physical therapist helped "so and so" use the bedpan and it is in the bathroom so that it can be measured". The only reason I told her is because we need to record strict Is and Os for our patients since we are a cardiac floor. Also, I would've measured the urine output myself but seeing as this patient was not one of mine, I didn't have access to her chart. So the nursing assistant responded with the rudest OKAYYYY??? (like why are you telling me this) I have ever heard.
I am so done with this woman. I always smile at her in the hall and say hello when I pass by but she completely ignores me. Usually I am not bothered by what other people think. But I just want to know why she doesn't like me. Did I do something wrong? Does anyone have any advice for dealing with rude coworkers? Thank you in advance. :)
