Issue date: 10/1/08 Section: Opinion

Taylor Collis [Click to enlarge]

The Student Health Center rejected me from accessing one of their basic services. This center, by the way, is possible in part because of student fees.

I heard the Health Center gives out free condoms, so I looked in to see what else is offered.

The gentleman who greeted me at the front desk was very helpful and spoke quietly and privately about the different benefits covered by student fees. I found out that in order to get a whole bag of free condoms and prescriptions, including birth control, I had to qualify for the Family Planning Access Care Treatment plan, which was created to help prevent unwanted pregnancies. This plan helps provide extra services to low-income families that don't have health benefits. Besides giving away free condoms, PACT also enables students to have access to HIV screenings and more.

Unfortunately, since I am married, our combined income disqualifies us from the plan. But I did see that I could get a free pregnancy test so my visit wouldn't be wasted.

The pill always makes me feel pregnant and I never want to wait until my period to find out. But pregnancy tests are so expensive these days that I was excited to hear the Health Center offers them. Well, the experience I had was not worth saving the money.

The nurse practitioner treated me like I was a waste of her time and asked me straight-up why I think I'm prego. Birth control is supposed to trick the body into thinking it's pregnant, so I thought I was. She then snapped at me and explained how birth control is 99 percent effective and I shouldn't worry about getting pregnant. I felt a little taken aback and explained how I know a few relatives that have gotten pregnant while on the pill, including my mother. I couldn't believe what she said next. She told me that those people used it wrong. Oh my, she just called my mother incompetent. And 99 percent effective means that 1 percent of the women on Earth could get pregnant while on the pill. This percentage would equal to about 30 million women worldwide.

After lecturing me about birth control, she then told me that I couldn't take the pregnancy test because I haven't missed my period yet, which made me question why I was even there.

Supposedly, there's a policy that the nurses are not allowed to give a pregnancy test until the woman has missed her period. This makes sense because I can see girls coming in every day to make sure they're not pregnant and taking advantage of the test. But, the way the nurse told me about the policy made me feel like I was an irritant. She said that giving me a pregnancy test would be a waste of resources. I can't believe that she would not allow me to take the test when I pay for these services. I was furious and decided to research this a little more to see if she was lying or not.

I found out that there is no such policy and was told it depends on the nurse practitioner's opinion of the patient's situation. So, treatment comes down to a judgment call by the nurse. I was also told that if I didn't agree with the nurse, I could've gone above her head and asked for a physician, which is contrary to what the nurse told me. The nurse said that if I still feel strongly about getting a pregnancy test then I should go to the drug store and buy my own. So, she made up a policy as an excuse to not give me the test instead of telling me the real reason.

My biggest problem with this whole experience is that the nurse treated me horribly and had no sensitivity towards the issue. But, under the patient rights and responsibilities list on the student health homepage, the No. 1 right of the student is to be treated with dignity and respect, which I received little of. If I felt judged and I'm married, how would the students who have casual sex all the time feel? What if a woman was in a long-term relationship and her boyfriend didn't put a condom on? In both scenarios the woman would most likely want to know right away if she is pregnant and wouldn't want to pay store prices for the test. The Health Center's services are supposed to be there for the students to use at anytime. But, if the nurses are not acting professional or the student feels judged when he or she visits, why is the student paying for a service he or she doesn't feel comfortable using?

The Health Center should get a reality check and make sure it's being sensitive to the students' situations. Women come to the center to find answers and are sometimes freaked out to even visit. When those women finally get up the courage to confront their problems and go to the center, they should be treated nicely and feel comfortable discussing their situations. It should be a safe environment for all the students.

Taylor Collis can be reached at tcollis@statehornet.com

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