Recovering and catching up on your studies

Getting better is only half the job. You also need to tell the right people, protect your marks and ease back into life without making yourself ill again. This lesson covers the admin and the habits that get you back on track.

Tell your university or employer early

• Email your personal tutor or course office as soon as you know you will miss classes: 'I'm unwell with flu and won't be at today's seminar. I'll catch up on the materials and let you know if I need more time for the essay due Friday.'
• If an exam or deadline is affected, look up your university's mitigating or extenuating circumstances process straight away; most have strict time limits.
• At the University of Westminster, for example, a self-certified claim covers short illness of up to five working days and must be submitted no later than 5 working days after the due date; your university's rules may be different.
• Universities generally expect circumstances to be serious, unforeseen and outside your control, and illness during the assessment period is a common example.
• If you work in the UK, GOV.UK says you can self-certify sickness of 7 days or less; after more than 7 days in a row (including weekends) your employer needs a fit note from a doctor.

Keep evidence as you go

• Save screenshots of messages to your tutor, appointment confirmations, pharmacy receipts and any doctor's notes.
• Write a short timeline: when symptoms started, what you did, who you saw. It takes two minutes and makes any claim much easier.
• Note that the NHS says 111 online cannot issue fit notes; for a fit note contact your GP.
• If you are an international student, ask Student Advice before deferring an exam, because Westminster notes that deferrals can affect progression, student finance and visas.

Easing back in

• Return to normal activities only when you are improving and have been fever-free without medicine for 24 hours (CDC), or 2 days after the last vomiting or diarrhoea (NHS).
• Start with half days: lectures in the morning, rest in the afternoon, an early night.
• Keep drinking well and eating proper meals; your appetite may take a few days to return.
• If you feel worse after going back, or a fever returns, stay home again and seek advice if you are worried.

Catching up without panic

• List everything you missed: lectures, reading, deadlines. Seeing it on paper usually makes it smaller.
• Prioritise by deadline and weight: assessed work first, then core lectures, then extra reading.
• Watch recorded lectures at normal speed with notes, and ask a classmate for their notes in exchange for yours another time.
• Go to office hours or email your tutor: 'I was ill last week. Could you point me to the key things I should focus on?'
• See the Study Skills module for planning your time once you are back.

Learning from it

• After you recover, update your sick-day plan: what was missing, who helped, what you would buy next time.
• Restock your medicine kit and rehydration sachets.
• Thank your buddy and offer the same help when they need it.
• If you are often ill, always tired or illness keeps affecting your studies, book a doctor's appointment to look at the bigger picture.