Student Health

Student Health Services

The Student Health Service provides primary medical care through an outpatient clinic, The Student Health Center (SHC), located on the ground floor of Darnall Hall, adjacent to the GoCard office. The service provides diagnostic evaluation and treatment for illness and injury to all Georgetown students. The Georgetown University Medical Center’s Faculty Practice Group manages medical services at the clinic. At present, hours of operation are Monday and Friday, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm; Tuesday and Thursday, 8:30 am – 8:00 pm; Wednesday, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm, Saturday 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. A full range of primary health care services will be offered by appointment. Only students with urgent conditions will be seen on a walk-in basis. After-hours emergency care is available at the Georgetown University Medical Center Emergency Room. 

SHC charges for all services rendered; students; insurance companies will be billed first for charges incurred at the clinic. Students and or parents will be responsible for any charges not covered by insurance. Insurance cards must be presented in order for the insurance company to be billed. If you have any questions, call the SHC at  202-687-2200. 

Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS)

CAPS is located in Darnell Hall. Appointments with the staff of psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers can be made by calling 687-6985. These services are entirely confidential. CAPS is also the home of the Learning Skills Center and a learning specialist whose services are very helpful to medical students. Students in academic difficulty or who are concerned about their performance levels, study skills or exam-taking skills are urged to make an appointment for an early consultation. Many students initiate self-referrals; others make appointments after talking with the Deans, a chaplain or other faculty. 

Immunizations and Health Records

Both the District of Columbia and the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospitals require that all medical and nursing students be immunized against seven childhood disease and skin-tested for tuberculosis prior to admission to the School of Medicine. Because of the recent rising incidence of treatment-resistant tuberculosis in city hospitals, federal regulations now require all medical students to get tuberculosis skin tests yearly. 

Federal agencies also require all hospital personnel, including medical students, to undergo immunization for Hepatitis B. This must be completed in the first year. (The cost of the Hepatitis B immunization is automatically added to the student’s account.) New federal legislation requires all Veterans Administration hospitals to operate random drug screening for all employees (interpreted to include medical students on clerkship at any VA hospital). A copy of the regulations and mode of procedure is on file with the Associate Dean for Students. 

The law forbids the University to register or allow class attendance to any student who has not fully complied with these regulations. 

An immunization form is included with the information sent to each accepted student, and this form must be filled out by a physician or from school immunization records. Family records are not accepted by the District of Columbia. The only exceptions to this immunization requirement are those people with documented immune disease or documented religious prohibitions to immunization. 

Health and Disability Insurance

To ensure students have adequate health coverage, the University requires full-time students to provide proof of health care insurance coverage. Georgetown is offering a new health insurance plan to students. The Plan was specifically developed to provide coverage for health services usually accessed by students. A pamphlet describing the plan is mailed to all registered full-time students. 

Concern for the disability coverage of medical students led the Liaison Committee on Medical Education to require all schools, as a condition of accreditation, to assure that all medical students are covered by Disability Insurance. A charge (varying by class year) for a standard disability policy is added to students’ accounts. 

Medical students who receive needle sticks or who are exposed to blood-borne pathogens will be treated at Georgetown Student Primary Care Clinic. The cost for treatment is not covered by the student’s insurance policy, but is covered by the School of Medicine. To prevent any one student from bearing the very expensive cost of testing, all medical students are required to pay a “needle stick fee” at the time of registration.