In a Monday Daily Pennsylvanian article, Student Health Service Director Evelyn Wiener claimed the clinic's bad reputation was "unwarranted." She attributed the ill regard to "negative rumor" and "folklore."
As a student and a patient, I resent anyone brushing my experiences with the Health Service aside. What happened to me was not a fairy tale. It was very real.
I used to receive allergy shots weekly at SHS. I went through the standard routine: I would report to the clinic at my assigned time, find my vial of serum in the refrigerator, pull my chart out of the cabinet, get my shot and hang around the waiting room for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, if I did not exhibit a reaction, I was free to go. No problem. As long as I was a healthy student, reporting to SHS for routine care, things ran smoothly.
Too bad most students at SHS are not healthy.
One Thursday last winter, I trekked to SHS for my weekly shot. I went through the routine and sat in the waiting room. But in place of my usual boredom during the mandatory 15-minute wait, I experienced sheer terror.
Suddenly, sweat began to run down my forehead. I could feel my heart pounding rapidly inside my chest. The faces across from me seemed to move farther and farther away. My head felt like it was floating away from my body. I thought I was going to pass out.
I ran back to the nurse, desperately letting her know that there was a problem. I thought it was a panic attack.
She decided I was having a reaction to the shot -- an obvious conclusion. But I had never experienced a reaction to my serum before. And I didn't have any irritation at the injection sight. Important details that were missed.
"This really doesn't feel like an allergic reaction," I repeated, but no one at SHS listened.
A doctor gave me Benadryl, put me in a private room and left me alone. He said he'd check back in a half hour.
In the meantime, I quivered and I sweat. I thought I was going to die.
No one at SHS paid attention.
And I was right. I was having a panic attack -- a common experience for college students.
No one at SHS diagnosed it.
At 5 p.m. I still wasn't feeling any better, and I was panicky and drowsy too. The nurse showed me the door, gave me some Benadryl to take with me and sent me on my way. I walked back to the Quad alone.
I was a freshman. I was away from home. I was sick. And I was afraid.
No one at SHS cared.
Luckily I made it back to my room. I called my mom and she drove an hour and a half to take me to a doctor at home. He diagnosed the panic attack and treated me correctly. I felt better in minutes.
Show me all the statistics you want. Tell me about long hours and tight spaces. I sympathize with small budgets and heavy workloads. But when it comes down to it, the "professionals" who work at SHS provide substandard care. And that is inexcusable.
I appreciate efforts to improve the walk-in system and I agree that SHS should hire more doctors. But even before that -- the current employees need to provide the patients they see with adequate treatment.
Wiener encouraged students to voice their concerns.
"I can't respond to a complaint if I don't know what it is," she said.
Well, here's one. Forget about the long lines. Put aside worries about inadequate staffing. Don't concern yourself with "getting people in and out of here as quickly as possible."
SHS has a real problem: treating patients. Please, don't say we never told you so.
Rebecca Blatt is a sophomore English major from Wilmington, Del., and a general assignments reporter for The Daily Pennsylvanian.
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