Where do you go for medical care?

[SpartyFan]

I will be entering medical school next year and was wondering if it is common for students to receive medical attention from the doctors that are affiliated with your medical school? I could imagine a conflict of interest occuring when you start your rotation in OB/Gyn and the same person who just diagnosed you with a yeast infection is the same person responsible for evaluating you. I understand doctors are meant to be mature and objective when it comes to these things but they are human just like us.
I imagine I will need to establish a relationship with a new internal medicine doctor when i start medical school but am wondering if it would be in my best interest to avoid one who teaches/works at the hospital affiliated with the medical school.

Any thoughts....?

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[typhoonegator]

Looking at things a bit differently...

Dealing with the uncertainty of medical care, which includes the environment, is a big source of stress in healthcare. I know many people who think getting routine healthcare in their native location is a "home court advantage" and see it as a positive rather than a negative.

Honestly, so many yeast infections roll through the door that I don't know anyone who would think twice. They probably wouldn't even remember. Now I suppose that if you had something unusual lodged in an unusual place, then you may want to think twice.

My wife is an OB, and we will definitely have our child at the hospital where we both are residents.

Then again, I won't be the one with my pants off in that situation.

 

[SoCuteMD]

I make a conscious effort to stay away from anywhere my classmates could rotate. I really don't care about the faculty seeing my yeast infection, it's more the idea that if one of my classmates disregarded HIPAA that s/he could access my medical records. Unfortunately, my health insurance just kicked the hospital where I've had most of my care off of our plan, so I guess I'll have to find a new one from now on.

I suppose if I ever needed something really complicated done, needed surgery, etc. I wouldn't worry about it so much and would go to a big academic medical center. For my yearly pap, my pulmonary function tests, and various other health maintenance things I'll stay away from academic medicine, though.

 

[WhoisJohnGalt]

I would also go to my university hospital for anything major, because I know that the quality of care is unparalleled in my state, but for routine appointments I go outside of the university. It's not that I really think that anyone would break HIPAA and tell everyone about my health issues, but more of a personal thing. I believe very strongly in being totally honest and open with your healthcare provider, and I'm personally uncomfortable sharing these things with my classmates and attendings-- not that I think they'll share, I just don't want THEM to know either.

There's also the bonus that our student health clinic (where I would go for those primary care sorts of things if I did use the university) generally keeps patients waiting for 2+ hours after their appointment time before the nurse has even taken their vitals, as opposed to my current private doc, who generally sees me within 15 minutes of my appointment time.

EDIT: Although I do think it's funny that I see a DO, and prefer to see DO's, even though I only applied to MD schools

 

[werd]

i just go to student health at the university i go to...

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I haven't had any real medical issues but do go to our school's family medicine center for basic stuff because it's free. My insurance has a $1k deductible and no copays or anything so I think I'd be stuck paying the full cost of a visit if I went anywhere else. It does make me reluctant to talk about some things, and the clinic is really disorganized and always overbooked. The docs seem good, but I'd rather go to a normal doctor's office.

Speaking of which, has anybody gone to Planned Parenthood as a student. My cr@ppy insurance doesn't have a prescription drug plan, and as far as I know my school doesn't have a cheap way for me to get bc pills. If I could go there for my annual exam and skip the evil family medicine clinic, that'd be even better.

 

[dilated]

Right now everyone goes to our hospital, although one of my friends was telling me how she kicked the med students out during her OB/GYN visit. Once we're 3rd/4th years and our friends are all over the place I might think about it a little differently, because med school is such a ridiculous rumor mill it'd be all over within a day.

 

[Ashers]

I go to the "Student Health Clinic" which is really just a clinic for everyone, but most of the students go there. No med student has ever been present during one of my appointments, and I'd probably ask them to leave.

I also had emergency surgery at the beginning of March, and I was sent across the street from the Student Health clinic to our main hospital. A med student was involved with the surgery, which I wasn't too keen about, but the resident said they needed the hands, and I was too tired to argue. Oh yeah, it was OB/gyn type surgery too, so I had to go to a follow up with a doctor who may be one of my attendings in August/September.

Anytime I've been in for anything related to like ortho -- been a couple of times since med school started, I don't mind going to the school clinics. I'll email my preceptor from summer research to see if he can get me an appointment too.

 

[myrtle]

Speaking of which, has anybody gone to Planned Parenthood as a student. My cr@ppy insurance doesn't have a prescription drug plan, and as far as I know my school doesn't have a cheap way for me to get bc pills. If I could go there for my annual exam and skip the evil family medicine clinic, that'd be even better.

I used to work there before med school and I've worked in two different states - it varies hugely as to what they'll cover (in CA you can walk in and get 13 months of bc for free, in LA it's almost as expensive as anywhere else) and the wait times can be long, even with an appointment, but the people are cool, of course

 

[Critical Mass]

I would also go to my university hospital for anything major, because I know that the quality of care is unparalleled in my state,

The university hospital that I actually work for and is affiliated with my school is probably the worst hospital I've ever been associated with. Send me someplace else unless I'm in a terrible car wreck on the middle of a Sunday afternoon. At any point in time, we have a bout 150 full-time nursing positions vacant (i.e. staffed by temp nurses), and the faculty physician group has the highest concentration of foreign medical grads I've ever seen in one place. (Hold back the flames, I'm just saying that docs don't want to work there in general.) Plus I've had too many stupid questions asked of me by the doctors there to ever be comfortable receiving care there.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I used to work there before med school and I've worked in two different states - it varies hugely as to what they'll cover (in CA you can walk in and get 13 months of bc for free, in LA it's almost as expensive as anywhere else) and the wait times can be long, even with an appointment, but the people are cool, of course

Hmm, it probably sucks in OK. Everything here does. Plus, we're really backwards about any of that type of stuff.

 

[menaniac]

Speaking of which, has anybody gone to Planned Parenthood as a student. My cr@ppy insurance doesn't have a prescription drug plan, and as far as I know my school doesn't have a cheap way for me to get bc pills. If I could go there for my annual exam and skip the evil family medicine clinic, that'd be even better.

Its been a while, but I went back when I had no health insurance (like 10 years ago), they charged on a sliding scale, depending on how much you made, for both BC and yearly exams and stuff. My parents would have a heart attack and disown me if they knew I went there (they are fanatic right-to-lifers), but when the chips are down and you're poor, they really take good care of your female health. BTW, this is in NY, and things could have radically changed from then to now (most likely because of people like my parents), but that's my experience for what its worth.

 

[psipsina]

I got very sick last december and my dean of students brought me to an ID specialist who is faculty at my school, and they admitted me to the school hospital. They were very cool about other med students and asked my permission before they brought their students in and said it would be fine for me to turn that down.
For routine stuff I go to the student health clinic, I just haven't had the time to plan ahead enuf to get into a new IM doctor in the city, and my prekatrina doc didn't return.