Reference no: EM133371982

Case Study: Melissa is a 24-year-old bank teller in a small suburban branch. During a robbery, Joan, the only other teller on duty, was slow in turning over her cash. She had pressed an alarm button and was stalling in the hope that the police would arrive. She was shot by one of the robbers. As a result of this incident, Joan will likely be permanently wheel chair bound. Six months later she is still undergoing medical treatment for her injuries and suffering severe pain. After the shooting, the robbers left the premises quickly with only the cash that they had obtained from Melissa and they have never been caught. Melissa was not harmed physically in any way but is suffering from stress.

Melissa underwent short-term counselling arranged through the company EFAP program and stayed away from work for two weeks. Since returning to work, she has continued to feel extremely nervous. Although the robbers wore hoods, once or twice Melissa has thought that men who were waiting in line for service had the same build and body language. Melissa has visited Joan a few times but finds it very difficult knowing that Joan faces a very different future from her own. Over time Melissa has found it difficult to sleep. She has been irritable with her co-workers and has begun to make numerous mistakes on the job. Last weekend she left a message on the office answering machine saying she wouldn't be in and that she had dropped off information from her doctor at the human resources department indicating that she should take a stress leave. No-one is sure when she will return. Some of her co-workers are hoping she won't.

Melissa is single and rents an apartment. Her parents live in another city. She and her boyfriend broke up two months ago. Although initially supportive, he became critical when Melissa continued to focus on the incident.

Although you are responsible for the planning and coordinating functions for return to work for the region, you did not hear about Melissa's return to work until after it had happened. At that point you were briefly in contact by telephone with Melissa and with her supervisor. They both indicated that everything was fine so no return to work plan was developed. Now her supervisor has contacted you about the ongoing problems.

Questions: View the scenario as a DM Practitioner and propose:

• What are some of the issues that you would address?
• What service providers would be involved and how would you work with them?
• What steps would you take in beginning the return to work process?
• Based on the relatively limited information provided in the scenario what accommodations would you consider?