Appreciating American attitudes on our health

Irecently returned from a semester abroad in Hong Kong, China. Nearing the end of my time there, I came down with a cold and went to my university's student health office.

The lobby of the clinic looked like a corporation's, with a large, avant-garde glass desk at the front and wave-shaped furniture in the waiting area. I made an appointment, then asked if I could set up an appointment with women's health as well. The receptionist smiled.

"I'm sorry, the doctor is on holiday."

The doctor, singular, was on holiday. I asked when he'd return.

"The doctor is only in on alternate Tuesdays, and by then the semester will be over."

So, never. The receptionist asked whether I would like to be seen by a regular doctor instead.

"Can I be screened for STDs by a regular doctor?" I asked.

"Excuse me?" she asked, perplexed.

"STDs," I repeated, aware that the arty lobby had not been designed with privacy in mind, and that the students waiting could hear me.

"I'm sorry?" she said.

"SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES," I was forced to yell. Several waiting students looked up.

"OH, I see," she said, looking mildly shocked, "Not here, no. I'm not sure -- you'll have to ask your doctor."

I hurried out, furious with myself for not scheduling my concern for my sexual health at a time that was more convenient for the women's health doctor, or more acceptable to the receptionist.

I returned and asked the doctor. After rifling through a stack of three-ring binders with the help of a nurse, we eventually produced the numbers for several clinics. None of them was closer than an hour away. I felt strangely uncomfortable, like my sexual promiscuity surpassed anything the university had ever seen. So I did exactly what I shouldn't have done, and never got tested.

I was shamed by the staff's confusion, by the preposterousness of my assumption that at any time, any woman on the university's campus could deal easily with extremely personal health problems. Problems that friends can't help with and parents can't know about.

Dreamily, I remembered Penn's Women's Health Service, the basket of free nail files next to the basket of free Lifestyles. I recalled fondly the accessibility of information on STDs, contraceptive methods, rape and sexual abuse, breast cancer and so on. But, most of all, I pined for the good times I had shared with the staff of knowledgeable nurses and the wonderful medical consultant, Janice Asher. Their gentle professionalism had never left me with a question unanswered or a fear unresolved.

After my stint abroad, I realized that Penn women don't know how good we've got it, and yet we're still not using this service to its full potential. Though I and several friends of mine have gotten much-needed help in our times of crisis, I still know plenty of girls who aren't going in with their medical concerns, who have never had a gynecological exam, who are too afraid to take pregnancy tests. And, of course, girls who have been sexually assaulted and don't look for help.

We are a privileged university of intelligent women, and we have access to an intelligent health service that doesn't rebuke or condemn us. It is discreet and welcoming. It has been vital to the health and peace of mind of hundreds of women -- and the growth of its influence on-campus is contingent upon every female student knowing that the clinic is open to her.

I returned to Philadelphia, smacked some sense into myself and went to Women's Health for my tests. The results came back negative. Though relieved, I still find myself thinking about what could have happened to me if I'd had a health problem on one of the Hong Kong doctor's 13 out of 14 days off.

One Chinese official was quoted recently about the lack of free condoms in Chinese universities, saying that the nation's students were so innocent that they had no use for them. A poll of university students themselves revealed that free condoms would be a great help.

The Chinese government officially reports 840,000 confirmed cases of the AIDS virus, though doctors are saying there are a million in the Henan province alone. There is speculation that the actual number of cases being withheld by the government suggests an epidemic.

These larger consequences spawn from individual biases. Attitudes must be open, and information freely circulating for systems like China's to change. By acknowledging Women's Health for its important contributions, we can do more work to spread its open-mindedness in exchange for a healthier society.

Jessica Lussenhop is a senior English major from St. Paul, Minn. Textual Revolution appears on Fridays.

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