An Open Letter To UHS
Written and Illustrated by Katie Herrick, Culture Editor
“UHS named top college health service for 2nd year in a row.”
The headline we have all seen and heard a million times over. The medical service at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the best service then, right?
Wrong. UHS, I am so tired of your ranking in the nation being used as an excuse to not better the programs and services offered to students. Yes, we may be highly ranked, but no, we are not good.
As a low-income student without another healthcare plan, my only option most of the year is to visit UHS. After several incorrect diagnoses of “an upper respiratory infection”—this is actually the ONLY diagnosis I have ever received from UHS throughout my four years—going to UHS felt like a waste of time. By the time my senior year rolled around, I honestly felt that just being sick was the better option.
During the times I was really, really sick and knew that I needed to go in, I was treated with so much disrespect. One fateful day during fall semester after three painful days of strep throat symptoms and the suggestion from an online nurse to get tested, I headed into the UHS clinic. Right when checking in, I told the nurse that I needed a doctor’s note as well, as I had missed a class.
After getting my vitals checked by the nurse and sitting alone in the room for the usual amount of time, the doctor entered with a swift “so you’re here for a doctor’s note?” I informed her that yes, I was, but I was also feeling ill. After a brief conversation about the school year and the weather, my doctor began writing the doctor’s note, making no inclination that she would be testing or examining me. I asked nicely if I could be given a strep test, or at least an examination, as I was—for the third time—NOT FEELING WELL.
She unhappily obliged. After gagging me twice with two unsuccessful swab attempts, she joked that I must not be very good at you know what, and then swabbed a third time with such force that I threw up.
Luckily, since I was feeling under the weather and hadn’t been eating, it wasn’t too much of a mess. (I have been tested for strep many times before, and have never thrown up, so please note that this was rare for me.) Hot tears of embarrassment and belittlement streamed down my face as she laughed at me yet again before leaving me alone in the room with a—literal—sour taste in my mouth and a doctor’s note.
I received a negative result two days later, but I couldn’t shake the overall experience for a week. People go to the doctor when they feel weak. To be made fun of and laughed at while searching for help is a slap in the face.
And this isn’t my only negative experience, it’s just my most recent. Between appointment mixups, cancellations or just waiting three weeks to be seen, UHS doesn’t really feel top in the nation.
All of this is to say, I recognize that there are much worse university healthcare options throughout the nation and that UHS wasn’t meant to be anyone’s sole provider. But, unfortunately for many low-income students, it is their only provider. For the university to constantly brag that UHS is the best when, realistically, service isn’t that great—if even good—is insulting.
I know plenty of other students who have received similar care, or even worse. It’s an honor to be ranked so highly, but the service and quality of care students receive needs to back up that reputation as well. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of amazing doctors and caregivers at UHS that really do care for their patients, but if you bought a pack of strawberries and even a couple were rotten and moldy, you would still complain about the whole package.
One last thing I want to touch on is mental health care at UHS. Maybe somewhat surprisingly to the reader, in my opinion, the mental health care at UHS is pretty impressive. The issue is, it is incredibly hard to get. Students need to call in ahead of time to schedule a screening. Only after this screening can they be seen. On top of this, appointments after the initial screening often book out three months, and the amount of visits you can have per year—and academic career—is extremely limited.
For wellness checkups and STI exams, this wait is annoying, but normal and manageable. However, if you are someone desperately in need of mental health services, this wait can be dangerous. I have had many caregivers inform me of services that they thought I needed, or would have loved to give me, but were just unable to. Many students are referred to an “outside provider” but don’t have elsewhere to go, forced to receive no care at all.
Obviously, I am aware that with thousands of students on campus, one office cannot possibly help everyone, but I have friends who have entered the office specifically stating they have suicidal thoughts, only to be turned away for months while waiting to be seen. UHS was never meant to be someone’s sole therapist or psychiatrist, but for many it is, and for many students, these situations can be life or death.
The university acknowledges the need to do better, but at the same time, they say the whole nation does too. While true, it feels like a cop-out. “‘We are running behind in terms of number of counselors and that’s true across the country.’” So if your friend failed the test, it’s okay that you did too?
Everyone else being behind isn’t an excuse for you to be as well. It is possible to acknowledge your triumphs and faults without comparison to others.
So, is UHS the worst? No. But is it the best? Also no.
To UHS: while I appreciate your existence and the work many doctors do for students, you need to do better, and you know it. Stop boasting your successes, and start acknowledging the work you need to do in order to improve. Start working to make sure mental health services are accessible immediately to those that need it (and a drop-in meeting with other students in College Library doesn’t count). Make sure all your doctors know the role they play in students’ lives and make sure they take it seriously.
At the end of the day, students will continue to use UHS—whether by choice or necessity. It is UHS’ responsibility and mission to make sure that that care is the best it can be, for everyone.
Sources:
“University Health Services.” University of Wisconsin-Madison News.
“Students, staff working to address growing demand for mental health services.” University of Wisconsin-Madison News. April 9, 2019.