Do we really need doctor’s notes to prove we are sick?
Doctor’s notes are typically needed when a student is absent from school because they are sick. However, requiring students to turn them in can be a major inconvenience to everyone involved.
Students should not have to provide a doctor’s note when they are absent because the symptoms they may be experiencing may not require a doctor’s attention. For example, if a student is experiencing bad allergies or a small cold and knows how to take care of themselves, they can save themselves time and money by not going to see a doctor. Not everyone has access to insurance or money to cover their visit to the doctor just so they could get a note to prove they were sick. In this case, requiring doctor’s notes unfairly targets low-income students. Students should spend their time getting better and healing, not worrying over whether they can get a doctor’s note.
Twitter user sarahoforegon made a post on how she feels doctors’ notes should not be mandatory.
“‘How the world works’ is that bodies get sick and people need to rest to recover. Also ‘how the world works’ is that access to a doctor who will write a note is limited. Millions of students would be unable to acquire such ‘proof,’” sarahoforegon explained on Twitter.
You may be wondering, but how will teachers or administrators know students are not lying about whether they are sick? Well, at the end of the day it should not matter because some people may not have symptoms to prove they are sick. There are many students who may need a day off for their mental health because they feel stressed or have not been getting enough sleep thanks to the heavy stress load that comes with being a full-time student. In this case students would not need to see a doctor because they have no symptoms of an illness like a cold. So, how would a doctor provide a doctor’s notes?
Twitter user omariA_P spoke on why teachers should not care so much about whether students are really sick or not.
“Can we stop with the entire ‘students need to provide proof of an ailment’ if they are going to miss class or an assignment? Be a teacher, not a cop,” omariA_P said on Twitter.
Wilson senior Denise Robles shares how helpful it is to take a mental health day and what the benefits of it are.
“Yes, I have had to take a few mental health days because of the heavy workload and school environment. The days I take off help me because it allows me to destress and catch up on all the work I need to do,” Robles said.
Are schools more concerned about what benefits the school rather than the students? When students are absent or leave early they always push for those students to get a doctor’s note, but is it really that important? Administration should be more concerned about its students’ well-being rather than about filing paperwork. The school may be pushing for doctors’ notes because they lose money when a student is absent? But in reality, doctors do not like doctor’s notes either and feel they are inconvenient and a waste of resources.
Twitter user DrBryanLeyva, a physician, shares why he feels doctors’ notes should not be required.
“You should not need to prove you are sick, and you should not need a doctor’s note. Doctors do not care for this role either,” Dr. Leyva explained on Twitter.
Overall, doctors’ notes should not be mandatory because they not only are a big inconvenience but unfairly target low-income families who do not have access or money to a doctor. Schools should stop enforcing them for the betterment of all.
