Running head: OCCUPATIONAL LOSS
Mid-term Paper: Occupational Loss Case Study Brenna Coles B00529042 DISM 4040- Strategies for Alternative Work and Prevention Tom Stanley Dalhousie University February 26, 2012
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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OCCUPATIONAL LOSS CASE STUDY ANALYSIS OF THE STAGE OF GRIEF COPING MECHANISMS POTENTIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND FINANCIAL ISSUES STRATEGY FOR THE ADJUSTMENT PROCESS CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY
Occupational Loss Case Study
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OCCUPATIONAL LOSS The following is a case study which will discuss the effects of the loss of an occupation. A critical analysis of the stages of grief and comprehensive coping mechanisms will be explored along with the potential psychological and financial issues. In the end, a complete strategy will be developed to assist the worker in the adjustment process Case Study Beth is a 42 year old full time emergency department nurse at the Queen Elizabeth II. She has been nursing for nearly 20 years. Beth has been married for 15 years and has three young children ages four, six and nine. Beth loves her career and cannot see herself doing anything else. Unlike the tradition family unit, Beth’s husband Mark only works part-time while most of his time is spent at home caring for the children and looking after the usual household chores. Beth is the main source of income for her family and her family counts on her career to support them. Unexpectedly, Beth was injured one day at work. She suffered a back injury causing chronic pain. The injury was sustained while Beth was working on a trauma patient in the emergency department where she slipped and fell; the floors’ surface had been garaged with blood soaked gauze. This injury has made it impossible for Beth to keep working and therefore she lost her job. Analysis of the stages of grief Beth has been off work for eight weeks so far. At first, she was in denial about losing her job as a nurse. She could not believe that this was happening to her and her family, and she has experienced numbness. She tried convincing herself that she could regain full function with time and commitment to physical and occupational therapy. Beth has a yearning to go back to work,
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OCCUPATIONAL LOSS so that she can see her co-workers and friends again. She misses the sense of comfort that her workplace offered. The second major emotion that she felt was anger. Once she realized the pain was not going away and that she most likely would not be able to return to her highly physically demanding job as a nurse she was angry. Beth was angry with herself for being careless and slipping in the first place. But she also was angry that the hospital management did not do more to protect her against this workplace hazard. Afterwards, Beth was in a depressed mood. It was evident that she could not return to work or go back to her old lifestyle and what she loved. Beth was depressed for the majority of the time she has been unemployed. Currently, Beth is in despair; she has come to the realization of her capabilities but cannot seem to move on with her life. Her job in a sense was her identity. She does not know where to start to pick up the pieces. She feels a financial reasonability to her family and wants to start looking for another job. Beth is embarrassed of being job-less and the stigma along with it but mostly she is scared of the possibility of failure. Beth also suffers from anxiety. Coping mechanisms Beth’s family has been extremely support throughout this difficult time. Beth has been encouraged to openly talk about her thoughts and feelings, in return her family and close friends have been available to listen and give helpful advice; she has a strong network. For Beth she must focus on coping mechanisms for depression. She has been told by her support network to look at this as a new opportunity. A change in attitude is much needed. The silver lining to this situation might be that it offers a change and offers something new. Overcoming Beth’s job loss will show her resiliency to life altering challenges. Beth is also determined to stay in touch with
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OCCUPATIONAL LOSS her co-workers and other networks. She believes by staying in contact she may still enjoy a part of her old job and not completely loss all elements. Also this may help her in the long run; through networking she may find a new job within her capabilities but still in the healthcare setting. Financial stress is adding to Beth’s pressure and anxiety. Therefore, right after it was determined that Beth would need another more appropriate job, her and Mark made a budget. Since the main source of income has stopped, they decided they would tighten up their finances by reducing their monthly expenditures. Mark also suggested that he take on full time employment for the time being and that Beth can look for part-time work since it is more appropriate for Beth to have shorter working hours due to her chronic pain. Potential psychological and financial issues A potential psychological issue that Beth faces is a relapse of depression. Throughout the stages of grief Beth has the potential to fall back into a depressed mood. If there is a relapse in depression Beth will face further set back. The longer duration of unemployment the less likely Beth will ever return to work. Beth’s depression may escalate from mild depression to severe. If this were to happen Beth will continue to be unemployed and may need more professional treatment such as therapy counselling to help treat the depression. Ultimately, it would lead to more financial stress on the family. Another psychological issue may be the major change to the family unit. It could cause tension and stress at first and settling into a new routine may be difficult for this young family. Mark may not be used to working full time or may miss spending time with his children as he
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OCCUPATIONAL LOSS usually did. The children may feel tension or may not adjust well to the switch to their daily routine. As mentioned above, Beth will find it difficult not to go to work on full-time bases. Financial issues arose the moment Beth lost her job. Both Beth and Mark will face financial stress hopefully they have enough money in their emergency savings fund for them to feel comfortable for at least 6 months. But if they do not they will be going through some tough times ahead. They may face the stress of relying on the financial help of other family members in order to keep up with their monthly payments. Anxiety about saving money and not being able to buy the extra or luxury items as they did before may strain their relationship. If they cannot receive financial support from family or friends they may have to rely on the community recourses such as food banks or their local soup kitchen. This can have a lot of psychological impact on someone’s life, especially if they are not used using these free services. The couple may feel embarrassed that they have gotten to this point; this is partly due to the stigma. Strategy for the adjustment process Obviously it is in Beth’s best interest for her to be working with a disability manager. As a former employee of Queen Elizabeth II (Capital Health) they offer “Vocational Counselling Service” which offers occupational related counselling. Beth would greatly benefit from speaking with a trained vocational rehabilitation therapist. Beth would be able to set and prioritize her personal and career goals. Beth could take advantage of the personal and professional development interventions offered through Capital Health’s Vocational Counselling Service. Beth can develop or improve her coping skills to avoid a relapse of depression. Also, addressing the stigma of job loss or the emotions Beth feels can help in the long-term.
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OCCUPATIONAL LOSS As a part of disability management process Beth should undergo testing to accurately determine her level of function, in order to find appropriate work in the future. Further investigating should be done to see if there is any possibility for modified work or to see if accommodations could be made to Beth’s old job, or perhaps another less physically demanding job but still in the same work environment and with the same employer. If those options do not work out the counsellor should suggest starting a new job search. Helping ameliorate and update Beth’s resume and interview skills should also be integrated in the process. Beth ultimately needs to move on the final stage of the grieving process and fully accept the challenges that she now is faced with and to make some positive changes in her life. She needs to make a plan with the help of her disability manager and take action. When she takes advantage of the support services she needs to develop professionally she will experience personal development. Conclusion Throughout the case study we developed a deeper understanding of the grieving process by analyzing where Beth was at in her own process. Personal coping mechanisms used by Beth and her family were identified as strengths for overcoming the challenge of occupational loss and outside influences that acted as barriers to the process we also identified and categorized by psychological and financial. Finally a complete strategy to help Beth adjust to her occupational loss was developed. It is important to note that the best strategy would have been implemented as soon as the workplace injury was sustained and not week after her occupational loss.
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OCCUPATIONAL LOSS Bibliography Archer, J. & Rhodes, V. (1987). Bereavement and reactions to job loss: a comparative review. British Journal of Social Psychology, 26 (pt.3):211-24. Capital Health. (n.d.). Vocational Counselling Services. Retrieved from: http://www.cdha.nshealth.ca/ Gage, M. (1992). The Appraisal Model of Coping: An assessment and intervention model for occupational therapy. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 46:4 (353-362). Psychological Adjustment and Coping in Adults With Prosthetic Limbs, by P. Gallagher & MacLachlan, from Behavioral Medicine, Fall 1999, Vol. 25, Issue 3. The Family Corner (n.d.). Providing a Support Structure For Others. Retrieved from: http://jobnet.tripod.com/ The Family Corner (n.d.). The Job-Loss Grief Stages. Retrieved from: http://jobnet.tripod.com/