It’s that time of year, people are getting sick left and right. I hate being sick, as many of us do. So what happens when you do actually get sick? You’re away from home, you probably can’t see your regular doctor, so what do you do?
I had people all around me telling me to go to Health Services, but, to be honest, I was a little nervous. I had never been there, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Thankfully, everyone there was unbelievably helpful.
When I first went inside, there were signs pointing me right where I needed to go. Inside there was a cute little waiting room and a person behind a desk. She called me up and handed me a piece of paper. On the paper were symptoms, problems and concerns. I circled the ones I had – sore throat, runny nose and a few others – and handed it back to her. I also had to fill out a few other papers asking for information like my school mailbox number, my name, school ID number and so on.
I waited until a nurse called me in. She was super friendly and it really helped me feel at home and less nervous. I hopped up onto a little area and told the nurse why I was there, including the symptoms from the list before. We chatted for a bit while she checked my eyes, throat and ears. She listened to my breathing and my heartbeat. She also, due to my sore throat, tested me for Strep Throat. She took the rapid test. While she was gone checking that, I observed the room. It was pretty small and cozy. There were different posters on the wall, some
were serious and some were silly. Of course there were the classic things, like tissues and a sink, as well as some other things, like a large bowl full of free condoms.
The nurse came back and said the Rapid Strep test came back negative. She had it sent off to a lab to be sure of the result. I was actually pretty impressed. I had no idea that a college health building had the power to send test results off to a lab. The nurse also gave me some painkillers, nasal decongestants and cough drops for the smaller symptoms.
When she had done everything she could for me, the nurse handed me some information about the Rapid Strep test and the medicines she was giving me and then I was free to leave. I did not have to pay anything. I did not have to wait in a long line. I did not have to check out at all.
My visit was absolutely wonderful. It felt very much like a real doctor’s visit, except for the amount of stress and potential anxiety that can come along with that. I felt completely at home with the nurse. Despite having no voice, I still talked with her and we both laughed back and forth for a while. I feel silly for being so nervous to go there. If I had known before what it would have been like, I would have visited Health Services much earlier. Don’t be afraid to go there and flat out say “Just so you know, I’m super nervous”. They will totally understand and be respectful of that. I highly recommend Health Services to anyone who feels a little under the weather or feels like death itself. They will do everything they can to make you feel better and make you feel at home