No matter who they are, everyone has likely had a day where they simply didn’t feel up to their normal tasks because of a cough or runny nose. Unfortunately, if you’re going to take time out of your busy schedule, your boss or teacher will often require you to bring a doctor’s note in the following day to explain your absence. While these requirements are put in place to encourage accountability, an understandable quality, this can often be unnecessarily difficult. Now, it seems that one doctor in the United Kingdom is taking a stand: a caustic note they wrote to one employer is currently making its way around the web, delighting everyone who has ever felt unable to take time off.
In late March, a company in the UK reportedly demanded that their employee prove that that he had a simple cold. Fortunately, this unlucky patient appears to have one of the best doctors in the country when it comes to biting humor and righteous indignation. A picture of the infamous sick note has since appeared on the Mirrorand several other news sites.
“To Whom it may concern,”the letter reads.
“[The employee] has had, by their own report, a cold today and sensibly stayed home from work rather than spreading this to his colleagues/customers.
“I have no test for the common cold and therefore believe him, however you feel his time and mine should be wasted by making him sit in the walk in clinic for hours and me spending time writing a sick note that I could be spending on people who genuinely need my attention.
“Please reconsider your policy on this – there are surely better ways of wasting your tax dollars.”
The physician’s comments may seem a little harsh, but they have a point: walk in health clinics are often crowded, and requiring that a person see a doctor for a minor condition only extends waiting times for the more seriously ill. Additionally, there is no proven test for the common cold, and the symptoms can be easily treated with over-the-counter medication. Moreover, if a patient isn’t considered sick without this “proof”, it only increases the chances they will return to work before they are recovered and spread the sickness to their peers. For this reason, this physician definitely seems to belong among the best doctors, even if the distinction is only temporary or limited to the sardonic category among the best doctors.
If you think you are coming down with a minor illness, like a cold, in the United States, you should try to rest and take over-the-counter medication to soothe your symptoms until you feel recovered. However, if you need a doctor’s note or feel your symptoms worsening, you may be able to avoid long waiting times by visiting an urgent care center near you. These walk in clinics are designed to treat a variety of non-life-threatening conditions quickly, conveniently and effectively.