Scott Webb (Host): Getting tested for sexually transmitted infections or STIs is easier than you think. In this episode, we sit down with Maura Rowley, Manager of Student Health Nursing at MIT Health to talk about how quick, simple, and confidential STI screening is for students. Learn how to book an appointment, what to expect during your visit, and why routine testing is important, even if you feel fine.

Plus, we'll clear up common myths and answer your questions about privacy, cost, spoiler, it's covered, and next steps if you have concerns. Taking care of your sexual health is stress free at MIT, tune in to find out how. Welcome to conversations with MIT. I'm Scott Webb. Maura, welcome to the podcast.

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: Thank you. Thank you for inviting me.

Host: Yeah, it's nice to have you here. We're going to talk about STI Testing Made Easy and what that means, right? And what every MIT student should know. So let's just start there. Tell us why it's important for sexually active students to get routine STI screenings. 

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: To start with, in this country, young people account for a very large portion of new STIs every year. So for young people between the ages of 15 and 24, the latest statistics that we have are that more than 60% of new cases of chlamydia are for individuals within that age group, and 70% of new cases of gonorrhea are in that age group.

So early detection is important. Many STIs can be asymptomatic, meaning that the person who has the infection may not have any symptoms, may not have any idea that they are infected. So regular screening tests out these silent infections before they become serious health problems.

And if they are left untreated, they can lead to things like chronic pain, infertility, certain cancers, there can be an increased risk of HIV transmission. So it is important to do the routine screening.

Host: Definitely.

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: It also just normalizes having discussions about your sexual health and takes that uncomfortableness or destigmatizes those sorts of discussions. And hopefully will lead to more comfortable conversations and sharing of health information.

Host: Right. Yeah. I was going to ask you, are there some common myths, if you will, about STI testing that might stop individuals from getting screened?

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: I am sure there are many myths. A few that come to mind are, just like we were saying, I don't need to get tested because I don't have any symptoms. But as we just said that, you know, many people have asymptomatic infection or some people might say, well, I always use a condom or a barrier method so I can't get an STI. And condoms and other barrier methods are good, but they're not a hundred percent. Some other ones are people might say, oh, I'm in a monogamous relationship, or, I don't have sex with that many people, so I don't need screening. But that goes back to the asymptomatic, undiagnosed STIs where anyone can get an STI. And so regular testing keeps you and your partners healthy.

Host: Right.

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: We have many students that come in and they say, well, I just had a appointment with my provider. So there's an assumption that STI testing is done in the context of other visits. And that's not always true. Sometimes it is, but it's not always true. So it's important when your provider is ordering labs, ask what they're ordering them for, and if you want STI screening to be a part of that, ask them in that visit.

Host: Yeah, that makes sense. In the context of a normal wellness visit, might not be, especially based on your age, may not be something that they would, you know, order a lab for. And we kind uh, kind of teased more a little bit, sort of the headline for this is about making this easy, STI testing made easy. So let's talk about that in practical terms. How can a student schedule an STI screening and is there anything they need to know before they make that appointment?

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: This route that I'm going to tell you is for MIT students that are asymptomatic. So at MIT Health we see students and employees and retired people. It's not just a student clinic. But for this route that I'm going to tell you is just for asymptomatic students. The easiest way to do it would be to go onto the MIT Health website, and on the homepage there's a white box and it says schedule an appointment. So click on that, and then it brings you to another screen. And for the service area that you want to select, it's the student health clinic. And then that brings you to another screen of things that we do in the student health clinic. And then you would just check select the STI screening and then choose whatever available appointment works for your schedule. Alternately a student can call 617-253-4481 and speak to a patient services representative who can schedule an appointment.

Host: Yeah. And you were speaking earlier about asymptomatic people and how that often maybe sort of throws them off a little bit or, you know, even if they are sexually active, but they're asymptomatic, they may not think that they need STI testing. So let's talk about that. Why is it important for symptomatic individuals or patients who think that they may have been exposed to an STI to make that appointment with a clinician?

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: It's important because we want screening to be done quickly. And if they know that they've been exposed to an STI, they should start treatment. The student health clinic those visits are conducted by registered nurses, so myself and a colleague. We don't have the licensure to diagnose and treat.

 So if somebody is having symptoms, they really should be seen by a clinician. And also some of the additional testing that might be required is beyond the protocol that we work off of. So, our primary care and urgent care and OB GYN departments, can diagnose and treat.

Host: Right. So let's take folks through the actual appointment day, if you will. So where does the screening happen?

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: So for a student health, STI screening appointment, building E 23 is where MIT health is located on campus. And the person would come and check in at the 1-south registration desk. So that is the same area that the lab and the radiology are located. So the student will check in and then they'll be called into an exam room by one of the nurses.

And what happens next is we ask a variety of questions related to their sexual practices and the reason we do that is so that we order the proper lab tests. So then we'll step out. We order lab tests based on that conversation, set up a lab appointment, and then the student goes back out to the registration desk, checks in for the lab, has a seat in the same waiting area, and then gets called in to the lab.

 And the phlebotomist will draw blood and also give them instructions on how to collect their own urine sample, vaginal swab, throat swab, or rectal swab based on what is ordered. So all of the swab tests are self-collected, patient collected, and it's pretty simple and easy how to do that.

Host: Yeah. I just want to get a sense there. And I do like the one stop shopping kind of approach. Right. Just, it's all right there. That's very convenient. How long a typical visit take?

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: Generally the conversation with the nurse is 10 to 15 minutes. And then the time spent in the lab varies based on, you know, how busy the lab is at the time. And certainly if somebody is pressed for time and they can't wait for a lab visit, we can put the orders in and then the student can go ahead and schedule a second visit to the lab at whatever time works for their schedule.

Host: Right. Is there anything that folks that come in, students in this case that we're referencing, anything they need to do before the appointment? It's like, yeah, I know when you go to get a colonoscopy, you got a whole thing. You got to do the prep and all of that. But for type visit, they just need to show up basically?

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: They just need to show up. Nobody needs to be fasting or, you know, have eaten, not eaten, none of that matters for these visits.

Host: Yeah, that's nice. How about waiting for the results? How long does that take?

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: The lab tests are all done in our lab. That usually takes a few days for everything to be finalized, and then the students are notified by a message in their Healthy Life portal, which is part of our electronic medical record. So that's something that students can do getting ready for the appointment, circling back on that last question is they can make sure that they already have registered for the Healthy Life portal access.

And if they haven't, they can go back into the MIT Health website and right on that homepage you can sign up for the portal. It's pretty simple.

Host: Yeah. It makes sense, right? You want, you're waiting on those results, want to make sure that you can actually access them. And it kind of kind of leads me into some like concerns and barriers. Right? So we talked about there's nothing physically, other than here making sure they can get into the portal, but from that mental side, the, you know, the psychological side. What would you say to someone who's nervous about being tested, especially for the first time?

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: It's okay to be nervous. Especially if it's the first time you've come in and you don't know what's going to be asked. For some students having conversations about their sexual health and their sexual practices is a little challenging or uncomfortable, but it's okay to be nervous.

 Come on in and have a conversation, you know, come for the education. If in the end you feel like you don't want to get labs done, on this day, that's fine. I think, a student might find that, you know, coming in, getting the education and getting the screening, they may find that having that information in the end is actually very empowering.

Host: Yeah, they say, uh, knowledge is power, right? And yeah, and it can be difficult with things like this. Of course I was young once and it could be difficult, produce a little bit of anxiety. But as you say, getting those results is empowering and I'm sure Maura that maybe privacy is a concern for some. So would anybody else find out about my results if I was tested or if that I even took the test? Like tell us about the privacy piece of this.

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: No, testing is confidential and the visits are private. We don't do group visits for this, so it's a private conversation, it's confidential. The tests, like I said, are done here in our lab. So the costs are covered under the student health fee and that student health fee is part of everybody's tuition.

Host: Right.

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: If a student tested positive for any STI, we would reach out to them, try first by phone, but second by portal message if we couldn't get them by phone and arrange for treatment. So if the student has like quote home insurance, and not the MIT student health insurance plan, and they needed to get a prescription for treatment, that may or may not be reflected on whoever the policy holder of that insurance plan. Sometimes plans would send like a statement or a report of some cost applied to the insurance plan. It's very individual. And, you know, depends on, what the rules are for that particular policy. For the MIT student health insurance plan, that information is never sent quote home, if a student would be worried about that. So if somebody does have their home insurance and they were concerned about any of this, we could certainly talk it over during the visit.

Host: Yeah, certainly worth a conversation if, if students have concerns and along lines of concerns, and you are obviously an invaluable resource, but let's assume that not every student gets to speak with you like I do and have that pleasure. So if they have more questions just about sexual health, where can they get more information?

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: I would start with the MIT health website. That has not only information related to the services offered here, but other just kind of general. And then there's a student group on campus, it's called Pleasure. Pleasure at MIT. It's a student group and their goal is to educate the community, promote healthy relationships and help students navigate sex and relationships. And another goal is to end sexual violence. So they are an incredible resource in the community. There's usually Pleasure educators in many of the dorms and they run workshops and other events. In fact, a student came in recently and I asked what brought them in?

And it was coming in because of the information they heard at a Pleasure workshop and then informed that we had the general STI testing. So I thought that was great. And then other, you know, community resources. Planned Parenthood is an excellent resource. The CDC has tons of information. And then there's a Fenway Health, which is a Boston Health Center, has an incredibly rich website with lots of information and educational sources.

Host: That's perfect. Yeah. A lot of great information today. I'm sure this is going to help, you know, lots of people, but especially obviously MIT students who have concerns, who want to be tested, maybe some barriers and things in their way. So great having you on. Just want to finish up, does MIT Health offer any additional resources or support for students who do test positive or have more concerns?

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: Sure. So, like I said before, we will make sure that students get treatment and their partners can get treatment if they do test positive for any STIs. Our primary care, OBGYN, student mental health and counseling, all can be sources of support. Community wellness, and our VPR. VPR is part of campus, but the VPR group can be extremely helpful.

And then the hallway and the first floor here at MIT Health, there's a I call it the condom tree. I don't know. It's a big display thing with lots of, um, condoms, vaginal dams, lubricants, and it's all, it's just free. It's on the first floor next to the med stop kiosk, and it's available for anybody, just to come and take free supplies.

Host: That's great. Well, as I said, a lot of great information put out in the world today, especially for MIT students. I appreciate your time and your expertise. Thanks so much.

Maura Rowley, BSN, RN: Oh, thank you.

Host: And please visit health.mit.edu/services/student-health-clinic for more information and resources. And that concludes this episode of Conversations with MIT Health. I'm Scott Webb. Thanks for joining us.