Extended hours, more campus presence, and real time slot availability expected
Wellness services continue
Reading week (Feb. 16-20) was a much-anticipated break for students who had navigated the January blues – a month full of quizzes, assignments, and midterms.
While the university remains open during this time, some facilities remain operating with reduced hours. The Student Wellness Centre located in Room 119 at the Paskwaw Tower, however, remains operational with regular hours.
The centre is run by licensed nurse practitioners who provide primary health care services to registered U of R students. Some students acknowledge and appreciate the convenience of having a students health clinic right on campus, but others talk about improvements that are needed.
Demand for extended hours
The Carillon spoke with several students on campus to get their take on the matter.
“The services that the nurse practitioners provide are great, but personally, the biggest area of improvement would be the opening hours of the clinic. It feels early for a campus clinic to be closing at 4:30 p.m.,” says Tim Merces, student, La Cité, U of R.
“It would be nice if the clinic opening hours are extended into the evening. This way, it would be more accessible for students whose schedule is either packed for the whole day with classes or part-time jobs.”
At present, the hours of operation for the wellness clinic are 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and it is usually closed on statutory and university holidays.
It feels early for a campus clinic to be closing at 4:30,” – Tim Merces, student at La Cité university.
The awareness gap
Zohra Khan, a graduate student sees the wellness center as a place that students should make use of more often.
“I see that the clinic offers diagnostic tests, referrals to specialists, and treating minor health concerns and injuries. But you wouldn’t necessarily know all this merely by walking past the Paskaw Tower,” says Khan.
“I would love to see the clinic staff be more proactive and engaged with the student community, most students don’t even know we have a wellness center.”
For Khan, raising awareness about the services that the clinic provides to the student body is something that should be prioritized so that students know exactly how to access help before even needing it.
“The staff can host workshops, for example, by putting a booth in the Riddell Center, which is usually the busiest place and where they can get the most traction on campus.”
Issues with access and care
Ben Clark, a fourth-year marketing student, says that the university can improve the overall student experience with the wellness clinic by providing real-time updates about same-day available slots.
“If I am coming in during the winter break or I am already feeling sick, I would not want to risk the uncertainty of a walk-in visit only to find out that there might be no availability,” says Clark.
“If there were a live tracker or something similar on their web portal showing current wait times or a real-time count of the available same-day slots, it would be so much easier for students, and it would save the time to call or to trek across the campus, especially during winter months.”
For Clark, providing real-time wait estimates and slot availability is another important improvement that he hopes to see in addition to better hours and increased outreach to enhance the student experience.
