Ian Benson ’14 recounts his HIV test at the Wellness Center
Ian Benson
Features Editor
Like any child of this generation, I’ve been educated about the horrors of HIV and AIDS. For that reason, the concept of getting an HIV test was an unsettling one. Medical tests conjure up images of needles, blood and some manner of pain or discomfort. This often scares people away from getting tested, something I firmly believe to be important.
It may come as a surprise to some that the Wellness Center offers HIV tests four times a year, twice each semester. However the tests are not particularly well promoted. The Wooster Headline News site and a few fliers around campus were the only notifications that the first test of the semester would be offered Feb. 15. (the least romantic way to follow up Valentine’s Day). The tests were offered from 5-7:30 p.m. in the Wellness Center, and the fliers promised no pain and estimated 45 minutes for the entire test and results, a promise that seemed enticing considering the usual anxiety accompanying medical issues, especially one as detrimental as HIV/AIDS.
Upon arriving at the Wellness Center, I was directed to a group room to wait for the tests. It was curious to me to put everyone in the same room to wait for the tests. Medical tests always seem to bring out fear in people so I could not figure out whether it was wise to cram test takers together like that. I was also acutely aware that anonymity for the tests would be near impossible. With a campus our size, it would be a given that someone would recognize you at the test and any wish to keep the matter private would be difficult to carry out in some cases. It was that issue that bothered me the most about the waiting room, though I was unable to think up a true solution to the spatial issues.
The next issue that arose during the testing was the lack of medical professionals in the room; instead, a small sign was placed on a table to inform us of the steps we needed to take before we were ready for a test. All that had to be done was filling out a small form, though the lack of anyone to ask about it caused a minor amount of confusion.
The largest issue I had came next; the turnout for testing was surprisingly high, and though I arrived around the 5 p.m. start time, I sat in the waiting room for close to an hour before I was finally called up. At one point, a nurse came out and explained that there were more people than originally anticipated and advised those who might miss some type of commitment to come back later or wait for the next tests in April. I understand the Wellness Center being understaffed, but for a test as potentially life-changing as this, I was perturbed by the idea of putting it off another two months. In my opinion, though the practicality of the solution may be argued, the tests should be an all-day event to allow people to be tested without the worry of missing events or commitments, and also to prevent a nearly two-hour wait time to take the test.
As for the test itself, it carried through on the promise of the fliers, and was a simple gum swabbing, a 20 minute wait for results and absolutely no needles or blood. From there, the back of the form that was previously unclear was filled out with the nurse, the questions concerning both prevention and reactions to a positive test in an attempt to reassure the patient that there would be assistance no matter what the results were.
In the end, I found the test to be nowhere near as bad as I feared. The biggest hurdle to overcome was simply walking into the building, but that just might be the hypochondriac in me. I was disappointed in the execution of the testing, especially considering the disease at stake. This is a serious issue, and there is certainly room to improve testing at the Wellness Center.