Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 6009
Submitted: July 3, 2019 at 9:10:23 PM
First Name: Rachel
Last Name: Otchere
Student Number: 20072500
Email: 17raog@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BA
Plan: Psychology
Level of Study: 3
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Code: PSYCH 100
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2019
Petition Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor's Name: Meghan Norris
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean(Studies),
My name is Rachel Otchere-Gyan and I am requesting to appeal my Psychology 100 (Fall/Winter2019) course to a CR standing due to the fact that my final exam mark was influenced by my reoccurring costochondritis.
The condition essentially causes chest pain due to inflammation that can make it difficult to breath and sit/lie down in certain positions. Deep breathing tends to make it more painful, as well as exercise. Although I had taken medication for it when I first got it in October 2018, I had finished the prescribed medication by the winter exam season so when it started to occur again in beginning April I couldn¿¿t treat it.
Initially, I was not sure it was the costochondritis returning or stress causing the pain, so I put off seeking help. I had 6 exams starting the week of the 8th, which is when I first went to the walk-in clinic, but due to scheduling issues postponed and decided to get over the counter prescriptions instead. Due to this, the dosage was weaker than prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs so it wasn¿¿t helpful for the first week of taking it. The costochondritis did not last the whole exam season but it did make everyday tasks like talking, breathing and sleeping very painful for me because I had a constant pain in my chest. This made it hard for me to sleep, and my anxiety during exams caused breathing issues, which were intensified due to the pain from inflammation. Essentially, I was in pain mainly from April 8 to the 12th, which is the week of my psychology exam.
The medication started to help by the weekend of the 12th and I hoped it didn¿¿t affect my focus too much but looking back it made studying that first week really hard for me. Other than anti-inflammatory medication I was told there is not much you can do about costochondritis but stay calm and wait for the inflammation to heal. When it occurred the first time this was easier because I had less going on but during exam season it was very hard for combined with stress and 6 exams. However, my performance in my other courses was not affected by this due to the medication starting to work by then.
In the future, I can prevent this by putting my health first during exam season and taking extra care of myself. I have also learned that I am not suited for a 6-course semester as I don¿¿t seem to handle the stress well, so moving forward I won¿¿t push myself too hard. If I were taking 5 courses when this happened it would not have affected my performance so intensely.
Thank you for your time and consideration into how this condition affected my performance during the psychology final exam. I will attach a note from my family member who can attest to how this condition affected my performance.
Regards,
Rachel Otchere-Gyan
My name is Rachel Otchere-Gyan and I am requesting to appeal my Psychology 100 (Fall/Winter2019) course to a CR standing due to the fact that my final exam mark was influenced by my reoccurring costochondritis.
The condition essentially causes chest pain due to inflammation that can make it difficult to breath and sit/lie down in certain positions. Deep breathing tends to make it more painful, as well as exercise. Although I had taken medication for it when I first got it in October 2018, I had finished the prescribed medication by the winter exam season so when it started to occur again in beginning April I couldn¿¿t treat it.
Initially, I was not sure it was the costochondritis returning or stress causing the pain, so I put off seeking help. I had 6 exams starting the week of the 8th, which is when I first went to the walk-in clinic, but due to scheduling issues postponed and decided to get over the counter prescriptions instead. Due to this, the dosage was weaker than prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs so it wasn¿¿t helpful for the first week of taking it. The costochondritis did not last the whole exam season but it did make everyday tasks like talking, breathing and sleeping very painful for me because I had a constant pain in my chest. This made it hard for me to sleep, and my anxiety during exams caused breathing issues, which were intensified due to the pain from inflammation. Essentially, I was in pain mainly from April 8 to the 12th, which is the week of my psychology exam.
The medication started to help by the weekend of the 12th and I hoped it didn¿¿t affect my focus too much but looking back it made studying that first week really hard for me. Other than anti-inflammatory medication I was told there is not much you can do about costochondritis but stay calm and wait for the inflammation to heal. When it occurred the first time this was easier because I had less going on but during exam season it was very hard for combined with stress and 6 exams. However, my performance in my other courses was not affected by this due to the medication starting to work by then.
In the future, I can prevent this by putting my health first during exam season and taking extra care of myself. I have also learned that I am not suited for a 6-course semester as I don¿¿t seem to handle the stress well, so moving forward I won¿¿t push myself too hard. If I were taking 5 courses when this happened it would not have affected my performance so intensely.
Thank you for your time and consideration into how this condition affected my performance during the psychology final exam. I will attach a note from my family member who can attest to how this condition affected my performance.
Regards,
Rachel Otchere-Gyan
Documentation
Professional Letter Detail: note