Harvard's Health Crisis

I can't say that I walked into the offices of University Health Services (UHS) without warning. I already knew that UHS was an embarrassment to the medical community.

I was a witness to the kind of care a friend of mine received from UHS last fall and spring. She was sick for a large part of her first year, complaining of a sore throat which caused an inability to swallow.

She repeatedly went to UHS but never saw the same doctor twice. The physician that she had seen the time before wouldn't have an appointment until a week later. Seeing no other resolution, she would have to petition to see a doctor who had a more immediate appointment available.

Because she changed doctors so much, no one became familiar with her medical history and no one could diagnose what was wrong with her. Each time she went she would be sent home with Penicillin and a trite "feel better."

She asked a dozen times if her tonsils needed to be taken out. But she was assured that, as the patient and not the qualified doctor, she knew not what she was talking about. Her tonsils were just fine, they said.

Finally, because her inability to swallow prevented her from eating, she passed out. Once again, she had to go to UHS.

Unable to diagnose her illness, the "qualified" doctors told her she should just go home because she could be contagious. Once at home, she saw a specialist who said she had the most infected tonsils she had ever seen. Later on in the year, she had adult tonsillectomy.

Knowing this story, I still went to UHS last week. I was running down the stairs and I must have placed my right foot the wrong way because my knee popped in and out of its socket and I lost my balance and fell to the bottom of the stairs.

I needed to go to UHS at one point, very soon, to get some help. I waited until the next day, when I felt that I was more able to physically make it to UHS.

It took three different people, (one of whom swore at me a couple of times), two different floors, and a good half and hour of playing trial and error before I finally, on my own, figured out where I could possibly, but not necessarily, get some medical attention.

The staff was rude, vague and appeared completely unwilling to help me. No one told me exactly where I should go; everyone was unsure. No one offered me a wheelchair or an alternative to limiting the amount of walking I had to do.

As far as I have been able to tell from discussions with many other students, my experience that day with UHS is typical.

The treatment given to patients (and potential patients) by the staff at UHS is a ridiculous disgrace.

Every time that I and many students go to UHS, we don't feel like we are going to a friendly place where we will be treated with the respect and sincerity that any individual deserves--let alone receive quality medical care.

We feel like we are going to a prison where we will be treated with rude comments by a staff which not only lacks in quality and insight into the medical field but one which also shows little, if any, concern for its patients.

The fee that Harvard students and their parents are charged in their tuition bill may not be a large sum. But it is paid with the assumption that students will receive quality medical attention.

Such medical care should be administered by an experienced staff who not only act professionally towards their patients, but who also sincerely care about their patients' welfare and well being.

However, Harvard's University Health Services denies students accessibility to the very things ill students' need the most: qualified specialists and accurate medical diagnoses.

When I finally did see a doctor last week, he was not a specialist in the orthopedic field. He did not recommend any type of X-rays even though he sat there and guessed what could be wrong with my knee because he was not exactly sure.

The doctor (I am hesitant to use that word) said I could have a dislocated patella but that I should see an orthopedist anyway and he would do me the favor of writing me up a referral to expedite the procedure. I was handed a yellow pamphlet entitled "Patello-Femoral Syndrome" and was told to familiarize myself with my possible disease.

Even though my knee was swollen beyond belief and I could not even walk, I was not allowed to see an orthopedist that day and I had to call and make an appointment. Of course, when I did call the next day for an appointment, there wasn't one available until December 22, a day after Winter Break begins. What was I to do in the mean time? The answer was obvious. I really couldn't do anything. I was instructed to remain on Advil, and "feel better."

I knew that because I had exams and papers coming up that I would have to wait until I arrived at home where I would be able to see an orthopedist right away. If damage was done to my knee in the meantime then that would just be too bad.

No one should have to wait until he or she gets home before receiving proper medical care. Not all of us can afford emergency flights home for a knee injury that can be handled by a clinic with better staff than UHS.

I remain completely in the dark about what is actually wrong with me. Why is it that UHS is unable to give its patients speedy and accurate diagnoses of illnesses?

Why did it take three months before my friend was able to know what was wrong with her? Why did she have to wait until she was home to see a specialist?

UHS can certainly pride itself on some of its convenient health services. If you need a quick physical (and I do mean quick) you can definitely do that in five minutes--maybe even between classes.

If you feel fatigued and have a sore throat that prevents you from doing anything, you can have a mono test done in two seconds and then wait three days (after having passed it on to a couple of you buddies) before finding out you have it.

But if you hop in to UHS on one leg, crying because of the unbearable pain, be assured this one won't be that quick.

Perhaps UHS is a reflection of the general health care crisis in America. The concept of not having access to health care when it is needed is a very frightening reality that has finally reached our sheltered campus.

Maybe it is just time that we all realized that as Americans we must face the scarcity of experienced and caring physicians who are concerned with the sick in this country.

And we should then realize that we will continue to pay the UHS fee with the understanding that we will not get our money's worth. Thus, even though I know my roommate's experience and even though I have experienced my own share of ridiculous medical care from the experts at UHS, I much continue to go there. The sick reality is that we really have no choice.