Some employers have rules where in order to take time off if you’re sick you need a doctor’s note.

That’s the situation for the woman in today’s story, and the doctor she sees decides to do her a huge favor while at the same time getting payback at the woman’s employer.

Let’s see how the story plays out.

Employers – careful what you ask for!

I’m an emergency physician – I work in emergency departments in hospitals.

An interesting specialty in medicine, different patients every day (except for the frequent fliers, but that’s another story).

Now, especially in the winter time, ED’s are full of people, with usually long wait times – and we take people in order of severity, not first come/first served.

So, I’m at work, and get a new patient – the chart says ‘needs a work note’.

He knew she was sick.

I go into the cubical, and see a patient that is obviously ill.

After 40 years of experience, I can size patients up pretty well from across the room: This woman was ill.

Vitals were not good, fever of 102F, , the works.

The monitor shows her heart is OK, pulse is a little high, BP is a little low, high fever…

Talking to her she tells me she’s got a cold.

He appreciated her honesty.

Now, I tend to appreciate it when patients just tell me the truth.

She didn’t claim to have COVID, pneumonia, anthrax (don’t ask), or anything but…a cold.

Which, being a virus, there’s not a heck of a lot I can do for her.

So I ask why she came in.

Turns out she’s been ill for two days, her fever is actually down with her taking Tylenol and drinking fluids (no kidding!), and her employer wants a doctors note for more paid time off.

He was upset at her employer’s rules.

This woman waited in the emergency department waiting room for (checks the record) five and a half hours, to get a note for work?

Not her fault, though.

It’s her employers.

He wrote a note for her.

So, I ask her how much time they will give her paid off.

“There’s no limit” she said. “I just need a doctor saying I need it”.

Got it.

So, she went home with a lovely note giving her two weeks off with pay.

And instructions to return for additional time if she needs it to recover.

I REALLY hate employers that demand asinine notes like this.

Fight the stupidity!

She must’ve been so happy to have that time off.

What a great doctor!

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

Here’s the perspective of someone who used to work at a hospital.

It sounds like this person had a great doctor too.

Here’s praise for him for multiple reasons.

Another person had to see a doctor for a similar reason.

This is an example of a great doctor!

But how annoying that we have to get notes like children to take time off.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.