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There is not an easy answer to this question.
First off, having been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder doesn't mean she HAS bipolar disorder.
Unlike physical medicine where you can perform tests and know a certain result means a certain illness, psychiatry tends to function by diagnosis by exclusion.
There are also diagnoses that placate insurance companies (for example, many insurers will not come across with $$ to treat some drug and alcohol problems, but the cha-ching flows for mental illness ... what do you think happens? Your cocaine user is now "bipolar").
Certain diagnoses are handed out because they are more 'friendly' ... or more in line with the real or perceived socioeconomic status of the individual. Nice girls from rich homes get to have bipolar disorder. People who are living on the street or in poor neighborhoods get Schizophrenia or Schizoaffective diagnoses more often. Also, there is a sense of hope that attaches to bipolar disorder. After all, it what Patty Duke has, and wow, look at what she has attained.
There's not a whole lot you can do, labrat. Much is up to the girl ... she has to go to treatment, stay on medication, and generally not fuck up. She has to stay away from street drugs and alcohol, and carefully watch her patterns to see if she's sliding up or down.
You may be stuck with her as an assistant, because if she can claim that it's her illness that's causing the problems rather than her just generally being stupid, ineffective, or lazy without impact of the disorder, you're looking at an Americans with Disabilities Act Lawsuit ... and fighting it would take a lot more time, money, and energy than you'll lose by keeping her on the schedule and payroll. That's something, though, for the lab manager to consult with the Human Resources and Legal folks about.
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