Unexcused Test Absence

[Plinko]

This is really quite a bizarre situation I'm dealing with. One that I never would have thought I would encounter in medical school.

I'm a first year DO student. Earlier in the semester I missed a day of testing because I had the flu. Of the two exams I was suppose to have that day, I was only allowed to make up one. I went to the course directors for each class with a doctor's note saying I had been seen for "medical reasons" and that I was cleared to return to school the following the day. One course director had me make up his exam the next day. The other, if you can believe this, said that the doctor's note did not detail my illness and therefore I could not make the test up. He said to me, "for I allI know you had a PE and there was nothing wrong with you." I called my doctor's office and asked him to detail my illness for the course director and his secretary said they could not because of the new HIPPA act that recently took effect. They said they could only release that information to another physician who's care I was under. The class has ended, and after receiving a zero for the exam I have now officially failed. I went to an academic advisor at my school and she said "don't get sick." I then went to the other course director, the one who allowed me to take his test, and had him explain to the other course director that he allowed me to take the exam for his course and that there was no reason that he should not do the same. The stubborn idiot told him that it was not his call and that he should mind his own business. I tried my doctor's office one more time and actually spoke with the doctor. He said he would release the info is I signed a release form. I went with the info to the jerk off course director and he said it was too late now that the class was over. Now, my only option is to go to the dean of my school. Upperclassmen have told me that if I do that it makes the course director look really bad, and him being the type of person he is, he strongly resents having his decisions being called into question in a public forum. The problem is that I have this same guy next year for another course and if I antagonize him it could hurt me in the long run. This scares me a bit because this guy is a real fossil. He's a bitter old man that's seen his stature at the university become dimished with every passing year. He's got a real complex and all the students hate him. He is the type of guy that does things simply to let you know what your place is, regardless of the merits upon which he is basing his actions. The other option is remediate the course over the summer, which will screw up all my employment plans.

I was just wondering if anyone out there has been in a situation similar to this, what they've done about it, and why they did what they did?

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[shindog]

I have been in similar situations where I received an unfair grade, but not in your particular situation. My advice is simple - stand up for yourself.

Take it to the dean, the president, the courts, whatever you have to do to make this right. If you are in the right, fight till the end. The excuse about making the professor mad is lame BS. You are talking about failing a class in medical school. This can have big consequences when you apply for residency. Don't let some old professor unfairly ruin your academic record. It should not even be an option to back down. Nothing makes me more mad than seeing people get treated unfairly, and they just roll over and take it.

I don't care if this guy teaches the rest of your classs in med school, stand up. If he knows you are so easily defeated, he'll roll over you again if given the chance. Unless his grades are based on subjective exams, there is no way he can purposely lower your grade in other classes. Just make sure you work hard and pass them. And if this type of situation occurs again, fight it.

Med school is a privelige, but once you get in, it is your right to be evaluated fairly.


I'm done raging now.

 

[Plinko]

Thanks for the spirited input. Actually, he teaches in a clinical department, and a significant portion of the grades in that department are practicals (e.g. subjective to a certain extent). I don't mean to sound like a wimp, I'm just trying to be as prudent as possible so not to handicap myself down the road. The class that I failed I can remediate and the school reports your remediated grade (the lowest possible passing grade) without listing that you once failed it. It is also important to note that the class I had with this guy is not weighted nearly as heavily as the one I will have with him next year.

 

[shindog]

Given the additional information you supplied, I would give it more thought. However, if it was me I would still fight till the end. Your summer will be unfairly effected. Obviously, there are advantages to both approaches.

BTW, what school do you attend that doesn't report your failing grade? That is almost unheard of.

 

[Fenrezz]

Screw that, go to the dean. Make sure he/she knows how you were treated. I know this is medical school, but at the very least people need to be treated with a level of respect. Every single person worked hard to get where they are.

Whatever happens, you don't want to spend your last summer off having to study because of some arrogant jackass.

 

[Plinko]

Shindog-I go to TCOM. The lowest passing grade at our school is 70%. If you pass your tests over the summer your grade is listed as 70% for the previously failed course, regardless if you got a 69% or a 1% in the class. There's no mention on on your transcript of a previous failure, it just looks like you barely passed. I thought that was pretty much universal. I'd be curious to know how it works at other medical schools.

 

[shindog]

At our school, OSU, like most others I am familiar with, they list the first grade (D or F) and then list the passing grade (C) on the transcript.

 

[LovelyRita]

Hit em where it hurt$!!--someday you'll be an alumni, right? Let the dean/president know that you don't want to leave the stage with your DO degree knowing that no one at that school was willing to meet you halfway when you had a legitimate excuse. And then remind them that they will probably be hitting you up for MORE $$$$ someday for donations.....and that you'll think twice about donating.

I hate the way they try to manipulate you ON TOP of collecting 6 figures from you. Come on, med schools, GET REAL!!!!

 

[Homunculus]

well, i have to agree with the academic advisor who said "don't get sick" lol. i've taken tests at death's door while people with a little sniffles stay home and study an extra day and take the test later. witnessed it first hand during TWO of our finals weeks-- annoying, lol.

honestly though, as soon as you found out that the prof wanted more details, why didn't you just go to the doctor you saw and have him write down a more detailed explanation-- wouldn't take more than a day or two to do. And how much time elapsed between the test and the end of the class? was it a final? I can't imagine it taking that long to get a more detailed doctor's excuse.

if the 70% thing is true, i'd just chalk it up to "lessons learned" and bite the bullet. you aren't gonna change anything by going over his head, and in the long run if you think you would be more adversely affected in your next class (which i undertand is more important grade wise) with him then it may be wiser to forego the dean visit.

also, most classes have a "sickness" section of their syllabus that addresses these situations-- what does that classes' say? most schools have policies for these types of things, and you may be able to use that if you decide to take it up with the dean

 

[PACtoDOC]

Hey Plinko,

I don't know who you are, but you undoubtedly know me. My question to you is why did you not come to me to get this straightened out way before now. You know my track record as an elected officer in our class serving as a liason between students and faculty (especially who you are talking about). I missed an entire course with pneumonia, and all I needed was a note saying when I was ill. By law, a physician only has to state that you were ill and needed to miss class. HIPAA is a standard set forth by the government ensuring privacy. When I still see patients on weekends, I never write the diagnosis on the form. What if they had gonorrhea and were in severe pain? That is no ones business!! My guess is that if you have no sort of track record of being a f**k up, that you can easily get out of this. But why did you let it go this long? Did you think they would just drop your lowest test grade or something? I feel for you but there is only so much you can do now. If you want to get in touch with me, you know how. I am willing to take it up the chain for you if your story is legit. Hell, you know me, I don't worry about pissing people off if it is the right thing to do!

 

[Plinko]

PACtoDOC-if you feel you can be of assistance that would be great. I need all the help I can get. I'll send you a PM and we can verify names and then communicate via groupwise from there.
And yeah, I'm pretty sure I know who you are. I simply had no idea elected class officers really had any sort say so in matters such as these.

 

[OldManDave]

In a calm, professional manner - take the SOB to the cleaners and feed him his own balls after your thru cuttin them off, stomping on them and painting them pink!

 

[Idiopathic]

Originally posted by OldManDave
In a calm, professional manner - take the SOB to the cleaners and feed him his own balls after your thru cuttin them off, stomping on them and painting them pink!

And then officially enroll in a Vo-Tech school far, far away. Better to smile in his face while your buddy pounds his skull in.

Honestly, you should settle this problem in a way that will NOT affect your future. As many will attest, pissing off a future clinical professor is never good. If you absolutely cannot resolve this diplomatically, the most forward-thinking move to make would be to apologize, remediate, and never look back. If, however, you are the type who cannot brush things off and cannot work with a chip on your shoulder (I am one of those) then take this to task, and dont stop until all options are exhausted. However, the effect it could have on your future is very real, I think.