Tired of waiting in line at the doctor's office? University Health Services (UHS) administrators say they are doing everything they can to improve the timeliness and quality of their services.

In November 2003, the Penn State Pulse followed up on its 2001 survey to gather feedback on students' expectations for, usage of and satisfaction with UHS.

The 63-question survey was administered to 1095 students by phone and online.

Its results established that about 60 percent of students have used UHS since coming to University Park. Also, 71 percent of students reported being satisfied with UHS services, 20 percent reported having a neutral opinion and 9 percent said they were not satisfied.

UHS representatives said they were generally pleased with the results of the survey, and only a few statistics were surprising or disappointing. Ellen Nagy, UHS marketing manager, noted one of the surprising statistics relating to awareness.

"I was hoping that more than 25 percent read the health column that UHS publishes in The Collegian on Tuesdays," Nagy said. "I'd like to think the actual number of people reading the column is higher. UHS does a lot to inform students of its services."

Nagy also said few students reported that they knew about UHS's after-hours phone advice. A UHS nurse can be contacted for emergency medical care or advice at 863-4463 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The survey also showed that students were unaware of the physical therapy services at UHS.

"I want students to know that we offer physical therapy for students with injuries or recent surgeries," Nagy said. "While most students who are affected this way are referred to physical therapy, it is important that students know what services are available to them in case a situation comes up."

Margaret Spear, UHS marketing manager, said another problem was that students perceive their wait time at UHS facilities to be higher than it actually is.

"What students say their waiting time is is not necessarily an accurate representation," she said. "It is an opinion-based survey and with that, some results are not as accurate."

The average wait time according to students was 15 minutes. However, Spear said that delays have been measured, and people with appointments wait for an average of 11 minutes in Ritenour Building and only eight minutes at the East Halls clinic.

Spear added that results usually vary depending on when the student last visited UHS.

"We get different, more accurate results when we ask our customers what they think of the service and how long they waited directly after service," Spear said. "Satisfaction is usually higher immediately after service because over time, people tend to forget the actual waiting time, and satisfaction of their service at such facilities."

While Spear said she was somewhat unsatisfied with students' responses to their wait time for UHS, she was pleased with student awareness of what UHS has to offer in terms of examination, care and therapy.

More than 70 percent of students responded that they knew about UHS services like HIV testing and the morning after pill, Spear said.

"For this many students to be aware of what UHS has to offer is really good," she added. "As a public relations and marketing manager, I would like even more students to be aware of UHS. We have seen some vast improvements in awareness, however, since the 2001 survey in which only about 10 percent of students were aware we had a Web site. In this survey, 81 percent reported that they are aware we have a Web site and information available to them online which is a remarkable difference."