Doctor’s note unnecessary for excuses
Some professors on campus require that students provide doctors’ notes to excuse their absences due to illness. However, Dr. Jim Davis, director and physician at the Health and Wellness Center said he believes writing doctors’ notes is an “empty practice.”
“We trust the student that they are sick, and the professor trusts us to tell them the student is sick, so really, they should just trust the student,” Davis said.
The issue is that one-fourth of USU’s population changes every year, and this includes USU faculty and staff, Davis said. When professors tell their students they need to bring a doctor’s note to validate their absence, they do not realize this is not a legitimate request, he said.
“It’s a university-wide policy that we are not required to provide any doctor’s notes,” said administrative nurse Judy Baldwin.
The Health and Wellness Center does sometimes write notes for those professors who are not “in tune” with the policy, Davis said. The professors assume that requiring their students bring a note after being ill is necessary.
In 1997, the doctor’s note policy was revised to state that no doctor’s excuse may be issued after the class was already missed, he said. After speaking with the Dean’s Council a few years ago, Davis said they also agreed writing physician’s notes is not a wise practice
“We have no way of knowing whether students were ill last Saturday because they were actually at the mall or skiing,” Davis said. “No doctor in the world can look into a crystal ball and know whether a student was sick in the past.”
However, Baldwin said they can sign an informal document stating the student was in the Health and Wellness Center, but it does not address their illness.
“We do sometimes make professors and instructors aware of future problems, like if someone is diagnosed with mononucleosis or they have to miss a fencing class or club sport from injury,” Davis said.
If writing doctor’s notes were practiced, Davis said he and his staff would do nothing more than write excuse after excuse for students during the flu season. Currently, the Health and Wellness Center receives a few requests per week for doctor’s notes.
In addition to physical ailments, students seek excuse from absences in the Disability Resource Center. Many of these students have an anxiety or stress disorder. First, these students seeking extra help must take a lengthy test to validate their proclaimed struggle in a class, said Michelle Lerwill, the office assistant for Counseling and Psychological Service. These tests can last up to four hours, she said.
If the test confirms a mental limitation, the student is referred to the Disability Resource Center (DRC) whose staff are trained to accommodate their additional needs by providing alternate routes to complete class work, said Chris Lord, the DRC’s learning disabilities specialist.
Students may try to get out of attending class because they believe they have an anxiety disorder, but they cannot be excused because of this unless they have taken the test from CAPS and receive a documentation of the disorder from the DRC.
“A student can have legitimate test anxiety issues, but that does not qualify them for our services,” Lord said. “A lot of times anxiety comes from not being prepared. Academic Resource Center can help them with those study skills.”
She said she is sure students come into the DRC with illegitimate requests for notes to be excused from class, Lord said, but if the DRC staff is unsure whether their concerns are valid, the student is referred to a workshop or training to help them with their problem.
Davis said if a student does get a note validating their absence from class, the professor is not required to accept it.
On campus, there are limited slots for students to receive mental or physical health attention, and Davis said these slots need to be filled by those who truly need care.
– catherine.meidell@aggiemail.usu.edu