Wednesday, May 07, 2014

Fake medical certificates demanded by school teachers for students attending family function. what is the solution?

Many pediatricians have faced this problem.This question has been asked in a forum of pediatricians and has given me food for thought as well.
What is happening is that Teachers are not only forcing the parents for a medical certificate after a short illness but even if the family is going out of town for a family function they ask the parents to get a medical certificate !!
Now this becomes very embarrassing for a doctor who does not like to issue fake certificates and the family is a regular? from decades! ! How to say No!! 

I have issued medical certificates once in a while on demand of 'strict' schools where every leave has to be condoned with a medical certificate, even if it is for a family function. How do we proceed since otherwise the child/ parents may be harassed?
I remember what my father did when I was 10 years, and we wanted to see the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi. He was a pediatrician in the Army, and he could obviously have generated a medical certificate from one of his colleagues. However, he chose to go to Principal of the school and told her the truth. The principal appreciated this fact, and was quite impressed to day the least.
I am not saying that this will work for everyone, but stating the truth may be an alternative to consider, rather than asking your pediatrician for a false certificate.

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