I interviewed Nop T. Ratanasiripong, RN, MSN, CCRC. She also holds the title of Assistant Director and Coordinator of Resources and Quality Assurance for Student Health Services. To get in touch with Ratanasiripong, below I have included her telephone number and fax number as well as email address.Though her time was limited, I did have a few minutes to ask a couple of general questions. Check it out below:
Laura: What should I inform students about as far as health issues that they should be concerned with?
Ratanasiripong: The health concerns for college students are various, sometimes based on season such as in Fall/Winter, the health issues will be more related to Upper respiratory infection (cold, flu). They should be concerned with general health issues all the time such as stress, women's health (pap smear), sexual transmitted infection, urinary tract infection, and other injuries.
L: What are frequent issues at the health center?
R: The same as [above]
L: What word of advice do you have for students who don't visit a doctor regularly, or don't care for their bodies when they are sick?
R: This is tough to advice. When one does not care for their bodies when they are sick, it may mean that one does not put first priority on health,"I am too busy with class, I can not see a doctor," or one is not aware that health issues can cause further harm, "It is OK, I may just have a bug, I will wait and I will get better," which is understandable. Since now the internet is widely used, what they can do (when they are so busy) is at least to go online to check out more information on what they are experiencing. Their are reliable websites such as www.cdc.gov or www.mayoclinic.com. More importantly, when the sickness is not resolving by its own, one should seek medical care.
So there you have it, it's not always best to sit around and wait for your problems to solve themselves. As Ratanasiripong said, even if you don't have time to visit a doctor, go online! If your health issues continue, seeking medical care is always best. Even better, that medical care is available on campus before, between, and after your classes.
I know that the student health center has many wonderful services to offer. I want to make sure the students of CSULB, myself included, fully take advantage of the services that our tuitoin pays for.
Here's a funny little video for your enjoyment :o)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3982512675782085047&q=student+health&total=560&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
nratanas@csulb.edu
Phone: (562)985-7075
Fax: (562)985-8404
