Rosenthal says there are eight student health groups that help close the communication gap between UHS and the students. But most of these groups provide health or counseling services, and none serve as a voice for student complaints to UHS.
Rosenthal says the Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) serves as the basis of the liason between students and UHS.
"They do more outreach than UHS does," he says.
"There's a lapse in communication. That's part of our role," says Sahil Parikh '95, chair of the committee.
Members are now working on a video to introduce first-years to the health service.
But while SHAC was originally conceived of as a "sounding board between students and UHS, it evolved into a health awareness organization," Parikh says.
The council, in fact, has had less and less influence in recent years, though members continue to help interview candidates for positions as doctors. Students sign up for the council at registration, and more than half of the current members are first-year students.
Even if perception is the only problem with UHS care, the health service and its doctors still have a lot of work to do. Efforts at increasing the number of students with primary care doctors have been relatively unsuccessful, and in an interview this month, a clearly frustrated Rosenthal asked reporters if they had any suggestions for getting students and doctors together.
Rosenthal knows that unless he finds a more effective method of improving UHS's image, students will continue to feel that quality care is the exception and not the norm. And doctors know too well that if a sick student doesn't get proper treatment, it can mean lots of pain, 47 days with your mouth wired shut, or even worse.
"I got good care when I went to UHS," says Ranjit M. Layagari '96. "I must have just gotten lucky."
A majority of undergraduates say they fear using undergraduate Health Services, having heard numerous accounts of their peers' misdiagnoses. Unless UHS finds a way to improve students' perception of its care, students will continue to believe that quality care at UHS is...