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doctors letter looks really unprofessional

Please help!!! My university didnt mitigate my exam because i hadnt got a doctors letter at the time because my condition hadnt been properly diagnosed. Im now appealing so i can take my exam again. Blood tests show im anaemic which is why iv been feeling faint, dizzy and tired all the time, and in the exam. First of all do you think this is an illness which could have effected my exam and revision for it. My friends think its funny but i did feel very ill
Also, i got a doctors note, but im so dissapointed with it. Its on NHS paper and the county where im from and the surgerys address underneath. Then its 8 seperate paragraphs typed out explaining each time iv come to see him and my complaints eg
on 6/6/08 miss ** complained of extreme fatigue and dizzy spells.
on 12/6/08 miss ** blood tests revealed........
hes typed all this out
then signed it at the bottom
and hasnt even stamped it officially with anything. it looks so unproffesional
is this standard for a doctors letter that cost £12 thought
iv never had one typed out before???

Reply 1

Grum Fox

What are they meant to stamp it with officially?

It's on NHS headed paper, with his signature. This means that whoever is looking it can follow-up with them if required and make sure it's genuine.

You're fine :smile:

Reply 2

belle654

OP

1

.........on my uni mitigations forms though, it says everying is completely confidential and under no circumstance can they contact your doctor

Reply 3

Grum Fox

I'm sure they would be reserve the right to contact your doctor to ensure that they actually sent the letter.

Anyway, it's on headed paper, which is what they'll be looking for.

Reply 4

mollymustard

14

I've had a doctors letter recently due to having an operation in the period around exams etc.
Mine didn't look very professional either, so I don't think you have much to worry about.
As long as its a genuine letter you have nothing to worry about.

Its up to your Uni to decide about the Anemia, but I do know that if is very severe you can even be hospitalised so obviously it is a medical condition which should be taken into some consideration.

Reply 5

Lord Lawz

Oh I know what you mean - you have to pay a massive amount of money for a signature (which is usually takes days for them to get around to signing) and when you have it, it's a mess.

mollymustard is right but if you're really unhappy with it - tell the doctor to do it again because you're not satisfied. Well, you paid for a service...

Reply 6

ilove2shopx

yes thats correct because of data protection e.g. so they cant ring up and talk about your health

but i think what grumfox meant is that they can check the doctor is registered by the nhs etc to check that aspect is genuine

Reply 7

HCD

16

It's the signature that's important. The doctors are just lazy, wanting a bit of cash on the side, and doing a half-arsed job that's all.

Reply 8

belle654

OP

1

i know, im not happy with it, but itl have to do, it took enough persuading for her to do it anyway. Are they usually typed?? iv had 2 before and theyve been handwritten, or doesnt it matter either way?

Reply 9

Rob 07

13

I have just recently had to get one for special consideration in my A-levels and had to pay £10 for it, he had only wrote 3 sentances and then signed it, it didn't even have the NHS logo on or anything just the doctors names and address at the top - i hope AQA accept it :biggrin:

The exam manager at my college told me not to worry about whether they will accept it as the college are supporting the application. But for the £10 i thought the letter could have been much better with more content and a more profesional layout!

Reply 10

34253

2

I write Drs letters. They will always just be headed paper with a signature at the bottom. As far as I can tell it's very rare they'll accept anemia as an excuse for missing/failing an exam, unless of course your anemia is very bad?

Reply 11

Joanna May

15

I doubt they'd accept anaemia as an excuse, unless it was severe enough to need a blood tranfusion or something. Anaemia doesn't have much more effect on daily life and exams than a cold does.

Reply 12

granny smith

8

The feelng of dizzyness which accompanys anaemia can be very disruptive to everyday life. You can feel like you are going to keel over, even when sitting down. The tiredness is very problematic as makes studying difficult and the dizzyness makes it very hard to concentrate. Therefore, sitting an exam feeling tired, with your head spinning, would hardly allow anyone to do their best.

As for the dr note, please do not worry about that, as it states it has been an on-going problem and not just suddenly on exam day! Plus, have enough on your plate to also worry about that. I hope you are feeling much better soon. Some liquid forms of iron get into the blood stream much quicker than tablets, but hopfully your dr will prescribe one's which work fast. Your poo should go black within a few days of taking them!

Reply 13

Joanna May

15

Anaemia doesn't just suddenly develop though, it's a long term thing. The university could argue that such problems develop over a long term, so if you knew you had exams coming up and you were feeling so bad, you should have gone to the Doctors far sooner and got iron tablets, which would have solved the problem. I was under the impression that doctor's notes were for things that couldn't be avoided or treated in advance, like hospitalisation or sudden cases of food poisoning/migraines.

Reply 14

granny smith

8

That is true about anaemia, but the symptoms must not have began to show until June, when belle went to the doctors. He should have give a prescription there and then, so the iron would get into the system. Or if severe, advised on having those super-quick-working injections! Belle, did he actually prescribe anything, or just advise boosting your iron levels through diet? I am unclear about where the line is drawn with drs notes? My mate had kept her diabetes quiet until she went bit hypo in exams, so she had to get a doctors note confirming her condition. This was many moons ago though, so i am far from up-to-date with the current procedure!

Reply 15

Joanna May

15

Yeah, the level of anaemia will make a difference to whether the uni will take it as a reason. If you just needed to eat a bit more iron in your diet, I don't think it would count. However, needing to take lots of iron tablets or transfusions would.

Reply 16

granny smith

8

cheap??? Thank de lords they do not use embossed paper here!

Reply 17

kirstyk93

i have pernicious anaemia as well as normal iron deficient anaemia. they think its an autoimmune disease causing it but I've been diagnosed right in the middle of my a level exams. have been told to get a drs note but they're charging me £20 for it but will get it as worried about getting what I need for uni now but they've told me to write down what I need the doctor to say and that's where I'm stuck! any advice?

doctors letter looks really unprofessional

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