Boston University Student Health Services

oh my dear lord! i bet this is the best department of the whole boston university. when i want to cut class or skip an exam or two. i just go there and told doc I am sick, then the doc will offer me a certification for illness. then i am off the hook! holy cat!
Besides, the people there are all very hot, I like that. FYI, THEY HAVE FREE CONDOM!!!1LOL

BUSHS is amazing. Always available an willing to help. I was able to get an appointment within a day… I tried calling around to local docs and was told 6 weeks for a new patient appointment!

Every time I have needed to visit Student Health over the years I have been diagnosed incorrectly or treated extremely rudely. Recently, I visited the student health center when I woke up with a very high fever and was barely able to get out of bed. My friend needed to escort me to the office due to how sick I was. When I got there they told me they would not see me since I was a part-​time student. I then had to go to the emergency room since they would not see me. This is a terrible policy and I am disgusted by the lack of compassion that the people working there had for me when I was very sick.

Worst health «I don’t» care imaginable. I can’t imagine any of these people actually have the credentials they claim. Should be shut down immediately.
I’m considering leaving BU it’s so bad.

terrible. i suppose its tough for a school with so many people to have a good student health services but i dont care. health is important and BU fails.

I’ve been to BU’s Student Health Services many times, and only left annoyed or disappointed once or twice. (Disclaimer, I have the BU insurance policy.) I’ve probably seen just about every doctor there and only two of them ever ticked me off, the rest are just awesome.
Routine physical exams /​pap smears are usually not terrible, even though it can be difficult getting an exam from a doctor who you hardly know. However, it’s BU’s policy to have exam results on file before they’ll write a prescription for birth control pills. (You don’t necessarily have to have the exam done at BU.) I had one good experience and one bad, mostly because the doctor I saw the second time was very curt and didn’t let me ask questions. She also assumed I was halfway dead because I’m vegan and made me get my blood taken, which I really hate because needles make me pass out. But really, that was only one experience of countless times I’ve been to SHS.
I also went directly after getting hit by a car door while riding my bike, because fortunately I was right across Comm Ave from SHS. They immediately cleaned me up and got me a referral, wrote my prescription for painkillers, wheeled me over to the Ryan Center and got me x-​rayed and taken care of. That was definitely a great experience after experiencing such trauma.
I’ve also been in for various injuries, mostly from running, sometimes just from stupid things like having back spasms or falling onto my hand and spraining my wrist. The advice and help I’ve gotten has been way more valuable than anything I got from my old primary care doc back in Albany. At this point, I usually know what to expect (ice, rest, and naproxen) and only go in when something is totally amiss.
They also help out for non-​injuries such as cleaning out your ears if you’re prone to build-​up, freezing off warts, and other things like that.

I am going to be a senior and I have had good experiences with student health. When I was a freshman they used to have on call nurses who you could buzz at anytime– after I took a nasty fall down the stairs (SOBER thank you very much) I wanted to know if I needed stitches in my chin or not. The nurse checked me out and sent me on my way to the ER with a cab voucher but she was very kind! Last year I saw Dr. Pomponio who was excellent. Friends have also said that Dr. Denise Buckley is very good. While I can’t vouch for all of the doctors at least these two I have not heard anything negative about. Recently I came in for a routine physical and the nurse practitioner was nice.
The behavioral medicine is located in the same building so if you have any mental health issues everything is in the same place, which I think is a great idea. I have heard good things about them from people who use their service (which by the way it’s free to see on of the psychologists/​psychiatrists…)
I have also come into SHS once for a massage appointment which a great service they offer to students at only 40/​hr. (Sha is great!)
So basically I find SHS to be just fine. Sure, if you have a seroius medical issue you are much better just going straight to the hospital but for minor/​routine issues they do a pretty job.

If you’re a BU student, and you get sick, and someone tells you to go to Student Health, you’ll reply, «They’ll just say I’m pregnant.» Even if you are male.
I am wholly perplexed that any of these doctors completed some form of medical school, since they are so amazingly incompetent. One of their more irresponsible policies (and I kid you not, it’s a policy that they will come right out and tell you) is that they do not give out antibiotics. Ever. If you have a respiratory infection, they will tell you that you are asthmatic and give you an inhaler, even if you have never shown any asthmatic tendencies in your life. If you have anything else wrong with you, they diagnose allergies, a psychosomatic disorder, or pregnancy.
My boyfriend once had Student Health tell him he had an ulcer «from stress», even though ulcers are caused by bacteria. When we went to the emergency room, they diagnosed him with appendicitis. FAIL.
Student Health has taken a recent turn towards being very big in sexual health matters, so not only do they tend to think you are pregnant/​have an STD/​need a condom, but it’s much easier to get condoms there than actual medical advice. They have a condescending, dismissive attitude towards students, as though you are too stupid to know when you are sick. They also tend to view most students as excessive partiers or hypochondriacs.
If you look at WebMD or the Student Health website, both have symptom checkers/​flowcharts. I have found that they will give you more accurate advice than the doctors at Student Health.
If you go to BU, and you do not have the BU Chickering Insurance, make yourself familiar with the walk-​in clinics in the area, and try to use them if you get sick, since Student Health is worse than staying home and self-​treating. (I recommend the walk-​in clinic at Mass General Hospital.) If you do need to use Student Health, your only chance of getting a halfway competent diagnosis is seeing a Nurse Practitioner. Stick to them!
Student Health visits are free for students, but if you need anything (tests, x-​rays, shots) and you don’t have the BU insurance, they will not submit it to a non-​Chickering insurance company, so you will have to pay out-​of-​pocket for it.
At any given time, Student Health is responsible for the health and well-​being of 35,000 students… scary, huh?