There's a doctor in the house
Health Services upgrades certification
Amanda Klein
Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: Features
Sick students can now breathe a bit easier: more help is available on campus.
As of Nov. 4, Health Services can now prescribe students medications and assist other medical needs, Melissa Gallison Blackstone, the director of Health Services, said. Gallison Blackstone is now a nurse practitioner, meaning she can prescribe medication as well as order labs and x-rays.
"We're now doing lab test collections here," Gallison Blackstone said. "A lab will be coming in to pick up the specimens we're collecting. If there's not something I'm certain about, or it's more complex, I can get a student seen by Dr. (Zia) Sheikh's office."
Sheikh is an internal medicine specialist with offices located in Olean and Salamanca. New York State law requires a collaborating physician to work with Health Services.
Gallison Blackstone said this was more convenient for students.
"We used to send people to Urgent Care (at OGH) for many pretty routine things, and that's no longer the case," Gallison Blackstone said. "The people we send to Urgent Care now are people who need to be seen in the emergency room."
Some students agree having these resources available on campus is helpful.
"(It's more convenient to) just stay here," Josh Mattern, a senior sociology major, said. "If you miss classes, you're screwed for the next month or whatever, depending on how you're sick. You just get pushed behind so much."
Mattern also said he hopes this will be an improvement from past experiences with Health Services.
"In my experience previously, and friends I know, they haven't really been diagnosed correctly," Mattern said. "As long as they had someone there who actually knew their stuff, I think it would be better."
Mattern said his experiences with Health Services had not been good ones.
"The biggest thing was that they did not treat correctly, especially the flu and stuff," he said. "They just said 'fluids' and wouldn't give you anything or send you anywhere."
As of Nov. 4, Health Services can now prescribe students medications and assist other medical needs, Melissa Gallison Blackstone, the director of Health Services, said. Gallison Blackstone is now a nurse practitioner, meaning she can prescribe medication as well as order labs and x-rays.
"We're now doing lab test collections here," Gallison Blackstone said. "A lab will be coming in to pick up the specimens we're collecting. If there's not something I'm certain about, or it's more complex, I can get a student seen by Dr. (Zia) Sheikh's office."
Sheikh is an internal medicine specialist with offices located in Olean and Salamanca. New York State law requires a collaborating physician to work with Health Services.
Gallison Blackstone said this was more convenient for students.
"We used to send people to Urgent Care (at OGH) for many pretty routine things, and that's no longer the case," Gallison Blackstone said. "The people we send to Urgent Care now are people who need to be seen in the emergency room."
Some students agree having these resources available on campus is helpful.
"(It's more convenient to) just stay here," Josh Mattern, a senior sociology major, said. "If you miss classes, you're screwed for the next month or whatever, depending on how you're sick. You just get pushed behind so much."
Mattern also said he hopes this will be an improvement from past experiences with Health Services.
"In my experience previously, and friends I know, they haven't really been diagnosed correctly," Mattern said. "As long as they had someone there who actually knew their stuff, I think it would be better."
Mattern said his experiences with Health Services had not been good ones.
"The biggest thing was that they did not treat correctly, especially the flu and stuff," he said. "They just said 'fluids' and wouldn't give you anything or send you anywhere."
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