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The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is calling for an end to sick notes in the workplace and educational institutions — but Toronto Metropolitan University’s sick note policy remains firmly in place.
The elimination of sick notes could prevent millions of unnecessary healthcare interactions per year, allowing physicians to focus their time and energy on patients in need of medical care, said the CMA in a press release.
“The responsibility for overseeing employee or student absenteeism lies with the employer or educational establishment, not with the physician or the health care system,” according to the CMA’s Oct. 28 position paper.
Currently, TMU’s excused absence policy allows for one undocumented sick day per semester, excluding final examinations and assessments. After that, students missing evaluations due to illness must submit a sick note through the Academic Consideration Request portal for instructors to approve.
In an email to On The Record, TMU president Mohamed Lachemi said since the government has not reacted to the CMA’s call by requiring an end to sick notes, TMU’s policy has not changed.
“The decision to grant academic consideration to a student is ultimately up to the faculty member teaching the course,” Lachemi said.
The CMA’s call to abolish sick notes was understandable considering the burden on doctors, said TMU math professor Lawrence Kolasa. However, he cautioned that sick notes play an important role in keeping students honest.
“If you don’t have doctor’s notes, then I hope that whatever system [TMU] comes up with, there’s still some kind of hoop that someone has to jump through,” he said.
Reporter for On The Record.
