To the school that I call home :
I love you, and I love being an Aggie. It is a privilege and the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. I love life here, and I will always be proud to be a part of the 12th Man and the Fightin' Texas Aggie family.
But, TAMU...there is an elephant in the room, and we've got to talk about it.
It's our on-campus healthcare system.
Look, we are a Tier-One research institution. We are the only university in Texas to have all three land, space, and sea grants. We have world-class facilities and a world-class faculty.
But our healthcare is terrible.
This is not a myth. It's not up for debate. It's not grumpy students. It's a real problem, and there is absolutely no excuse for it.
As I went through my first semester at Texas A&M, I heard numerous disgruntled students tell stories of improper diagnoses from Beutel Health Center (otherwise known as the Quack Shack). I thought that, surely, Beutel couldn't be *that* horrendous. It's on campus, convenient, quick care - I was sure it probably did the trick for your run-of-the-mill infections and illnesses.
Following Thanksgiving break, when I was back on campus, I started feeling seriously ill. I went to Beutel after a day or so of feeling badly, and was told I had allergies. I was very confused, and reluctantly filled their prescriptions for a basic cough suppressant and allergy pills. The doctor told me I needed to simply take the meds and "sleep it off," along with drinking lots of water.
I slept for the entire next two days, and felt worse, not better. I went back to Beutel, as the doctor had requested. He told me that he had no idea what was wrong with me and that I needed to keep sleeping and drinking water. Although I was frustrated, I figured that the doctor knew what he was talking about and that I really did just need plenty of sleep. I went home for the weekend and slept my way through three more days.
Towards the beginning of the next week, I returned back to campus and tried to attend my classes on Monday and Tuesday. By Tuesday night, I was sicker than I had been thus far and was hardly strong enough to walk or do essentially anything - but my cough and nausea prevented me from lying down or sleeping at all. Finally, I had had enough - the next morning, I visited an urgent care clinic.
The urgent care doctor quickly diagnosed me with an upper respiratory infection paired with bronchitis. He prescribed me steroids and antibiotics, and by the next day, I was already feeling significantly better.
I don't understand how diagnosing an upper respiratory infection could be so difficult.
Since that occurrence, I polled some other Aggies about their experiences with Beutel. Let me share some of their stories.
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"One time I went to Beutel my sophomore year, because I had contracted something pretty serious...or at least i felt it was serious. However, the staff at Beutel believed otherwise. They tried to convince me I had allergies. Safe to say I have yet to return." - Class of 2019, Communication
"Last semester, I had pneumonia and Beutel told me I had a sinus infection." - Class of 2020, Communication
"I went in to get my ankle checked out after an intramural soccer game because it was extremely swollen and I literally couldn't walk on it. They told me to ice it and that I would be fine in two days once the swelling went down. I went to the ER the next morning and my ankle was BROKEN, and I couldn't walk on it for TWO MONTHS." - Class of 2019, Communication
"My twin went in with advanced bronchitis and they told her to buy DayQuil and NyQuil because she just had a 'stubborn cold'." - Class of 2021, Political Science
"I went last year when I was feeling pretty awful before finals. I was pretty sure I had mono based on my symptoms. They tested my blood 4 times before they finally decided it was mono. They didn't give me anything for it - they just told me to sleep it off." - Class of 2020, Chemical Engineering
"I went in once during sophomore year because I couldn't keep any food down. Beutel ran a bunch of tests and said I had blood cancer. Turns out, I just had food poisoning." - Class of 2019, Philosophy
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On top of Beutel's poor treatment, the mental healthcare on campus is in a sorry state. Mental illness peaks in the college years, and it is so important that students have access to care when they need it most. One student put it this way :
"Our campus mental health system is painted as easy to access and user-friendly, but it is so far from this. The building in which professional and volunteer counselors are held is so far out of the way of typical students...anyone who finds themselves in pain without being in complete crisis has a hard time accessing help." - Class of 2021, Political Science
Texas A&M, you are an institution of excellence. Don't let your healthcare facilities fall short of the high standard you set for your students and faculty.
The time for change is now. Our health, mental and physical, can't wait any longer.
