How to Handle Being Sick

While being sick on its own isn’t fun at all, add on school, work, and internships AND being away from home, and it can seem like a hopeless recipe for disaster.  I for one, hate missing class or a day of work or an internship and even worse, I hate letting my boss or professor down.  Sometimes you just get really really sick because you are human and you have to take a day to get better and not get everyone around you sick.  I have some tips for when you have to make the dreaded call about missing an important days’ work.

  1. Let your professor or boss know as early as possible.  While you may only wake up 10 minutes before class starts, let your professor know immediately.  If you tell someone in your class to tell your professor, that can come off as irresponsible.  The professor may not check their email until later but it’s important to be as professional as possible.
  2. Find out what you missed if you’re missing class.  If it is a class where you MUST ask the professor what you missed, then so be it, but most of the time it’s much easier and less of an annoyance for your professor if you ask a responsible friend.
  3. Just because you missed class, that doesn’t mean that you have an excuse to not have something done on time.  If you missed more than one day of class, then you have an actual excuse, but if you missed one day because you were feeling under the weather, you still have six more days to get your work accomplished before next week’s class.
  4. Don’t miss exam days unless you’re incredibly ill or if it’s an emergency.  Sometimes the professor may not let you make up an exam or they may give you a harder exam (doesn’t always make sense).  If you have a cold and a headache and feel crummy, it’s best to get the exam over with and crawl back into bed.  With this being said, isolate yourself from other people to prevent others from getting sick.  While it is slightly selfish to go anywhere while being sick, it will cause greater stress for your professor and yourself if you have to take an exam at a later date or not at all.
  5. Thank your professor or boss for being understanding.  Most of the time, your boss or professor will understand your circumstances and be accommodating if missing class is unlike your behavior.  If you go out of your way to thank them, they will appreciate it even more, especially since you were just bedridden for a couple days.  A little kindness goes a long way.

    Ashley