Students are upset about their experiences with the Campus Health Clinic.
Students frequently are turned away from the clinic or asked to “wait a few days” before they can be seen.
It’s unfair for students to be turned away from the only medical service available on campus, but changes happening in the clinic are the cause.
Read more about the changes here.
The sheer amount of “new” the clinic is experiencing is enough to spark confusion and frustration from the campus community. This frustration is warranted. It shouldn’t be so difficult to be seen for a sore throat, but for students to see a change in the way clinic providers have handled things, they must remain patient.
Lashing out or being disrespectful to the employees and volunteers who run the clinic is not an effective way to handle the issue. Plus, if the new “on call” system they’re implementing works, fewer students—or hopefully, no students at all—will have to be turned away from the clinic.
The “on call” system requires the director of campus health to come to campus after working her full-time, off-campus job if a student cannot wait 24 hours to be seen and needs assistance. While this system may work as a temporary solution, asking a professional to work additional hours after a day working a full-time job to tend to students’ needs, is not a sustainable fix to the problem.
It is university officials’ responsibility to ensure they continue to search for alternative solutions and improve the clinic. Students are paying for medical insurance through the university, and the health and wellness of the campus should be a priority. The clinic cannot operate without additional resources and assistance from the university. Students must continue to be patient as university officials search for a long-term solution to these issues.
All campus departments go through changes. All of these changes require time, support and understanding as well. It’s annoying and it’s inconvenient, but if these changes will improve every student’s Campus Health Clinic experiences for the future, it’s worth it.
The people who work in the clinic genuinely want to help students, they just don’t have the means to do so right now. But that doesn’t mean that they aren’t willing to give students medical advice or help them find the best solution to their ailments. They want what’s best for students, but they also have to be realistic about what kind of treatment they can provide. They are trying their best with what they have and need everyone’s support at this time.
Leave a Reply