I'm writing a paper for a class about Planned Parenthood and experiences myself and others have had while there. Any answers to any Qs you could give me would be great. I won't be quoting you, but I'd like to know the location of your experience(s).

Quality of service provided to you. Any specifics would be helpful.

A description of the environment. Discuss how you felt to be in that environment. How would you improve upon accessibility of the agency.

Any personal reflections and response to the visit. Specifically identify what you liked, disliked, found helpful,
any discomforts, etc.

Would or would you not recommend this agency to a family member or friend. Explain why or why not.

Thanks for any help ladies! :)

Interesting topic!

I've always had good experiences with Planned Parenthood, I started getting my birth control there after I went off of my parent's insurance.Their prices are fine, but I hate how the Nuvaring is now $48, but that is beyond their control since the drug company raised the price of that thing.

I went to a Catholic high school and they would tell us Planned Parenthood was evil abortion mill that profited off of others' immorality and misery, or some b.s. like that. Funny, because when I go there I always see pamphlets addressing a multitude of issues including abstinence and adoption...not just abortion and birth control.

The one I went too (western SD) always had friendly staff and they actually recently moved their office to a less visible location to try and shake all the nut jobs that would protest outside and harass the clients.

I liked that the waiting room had 'Bust' magazine and not just the typical female fare. Their prices for birth control are the low but they unfortunately fluctuate when the drug companies adjust their prices. I think the staff at the one in SD takes quite a bit of pride in offering unbiased reproductive health care in a state where ignorance and militant pro-lifeism runs rampant.

Anyway I would definitely recommend PP to a friend or family member, I always felt comfortable in the clinic.

I brought a younger friend a year ago because her parents felt that at 15 she was too young to have sex-I just wanted her to be safe so I drove her there. I was also very impressed! Their actual office wasn't the nicest place ever, but it was very clean and had plenty of magazines. The workers (all women) were very friendly, warm, and soothing. My friend and I thought the sliding scale of prices was pretty neat-my friend didn't have a job so they gave her the basic birth control (Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo) and only asked for a donation. She gave them $20 for 3 months worth of pills. Anyways, she was very happy that it wasn't intimidating for her.

I've used them for BCP, UTIs, etc when I haven't had insurance. They're always really nice & knowledgeable. The offices are simple (I'm in the DFW area, usually go to the North Dallas one) but clean. The BCP is always affordable & antibiotics too. Overall I think it's an awesome organization to offer education & protection to gals who might other wise not have access. Granted th wait times & organization of the clinics could use some improvement - don't know if they're just always understaffed?

I'm jealous of all you gals 'cuz i had a pretty nasty experience there. The place wasn't very organized and things seemed scattered. Also, the nurse practitioners and the front desk people were pretty rude and condescending. When I had to go back for the initial evaluation (I had to get the morning after pill :( ), they were pretty rude and cold.

I think my paper is really going to focus on the fact that because it's a chain, each building is going to operate a little differently. I know I personally had negative experiences as well but to so many people, its excellent.

I know the payment/pricing also differs a lot. Some, you pay the full cost. Others its on a sliding scale based on how much you make, and some are also just donation based. And some use a combo! Unfortunately its also too difficult to really know ahead of time.

Thanks ladies!

Normally I would never write this online, but I love you guys so I feel okay about it. I went there three years ago for testing after I found out that my boyfriend at the time had cheated on me. The only way I could get peace of mind was to know; luckily everything turned out negative (I was very blessed!)

Other than the fact that I was distraught and in a panic, it was a very positive experience. I chose to go there rather than a regular doctor's office because I was on my parents' insurance at the time and didn't want to use that. The staff was very caring and reassuring, and when they called me a week later with my results they were very discreet and professional.

Hey, don't feel bad...anyone that's ever had sex with anyone runs the risk of catching something and there are a lot of people out there that have stuff that don't know they do! You can never "look at someone" and know if they have something. STDs DO NOT discriminate! It doesn't matter if you are poor or if you are a millionaire!:rolleyes:

Hey, don't feel bad...anyone that's ever had sex with anyone runs the risk of catching something and there are a lot of people out there that have stuff that don't know they do! You can never "look at someone" and know if they have something. STDs DO NOT discriminate! It doesn't matter if you are poor or if you are a millionaire!:rolleyes:

That is SO true. I am a huge advocate of testing for anyone that is sexually active, basically unless you are married or in a trusting, monogamous relationship. I think some people just don't go because they "don't want to know" if they have something.....I just don't understand that way of thinking!!

Stacey-I agree with you! I have no idea how in this day and age, with all the education surrounding us, people still won't get tested. I feel that it's very ignorant to not put your health first.

I go to Planned Parenthood for my birth control since I don't have health insurance at the moment :( I've had mixed results. I like how the staff is almost all female, that they answer your questions without being judgmental, and they're good about putting you at ease.
For my particular PP, I really don't like the location. It's in a little plaza, and next to it is a pizza place and a military recruiting office, so there is really no privacy. And when I was there this morning, I saw a friend of my mom's coming out of the recruiting office, and was so worried that she might've seen me and blabbed to my mother (this woman has a big mouth & my parents don't know I'm on BC). Luckily she either didn't see me or didn't recognize me. I also don't like their prices. Their BC is no cheaper than it would be if you got it at CVS or another pharmacy. (I found out that Wal-Mart has my BC as a generic for only $9!).
Their sliding payment scale thing doesn't work for me, either. I was supposed to have a full pelvic exam today, and when I called to make the appointment, I was told that since I had no insurance and had lost my job, that I would most likely qualify for this program that provides free BC and exams for 1 year. But when I got there today and gave them the documents they asked for, they told me I wouldn't qualify unless I applied for Unemployment (which I don't qualify for) AND have my parents fill out a form saying that they assist me financially by providing for my housing, food, etc. And I'm thinking, "No way am I gonna ask my parents to do this! " They're pretty conservative and critical, and my birth control is none of their business. So the price for the exam was gonna be about $150, which I totally can't afford :( so instead I had to settle for a "consultation" for $33. That was pretty disappointing.
I also went to Planned Parenthood for STD testing after finding out the guy I was seeing was cheating on me. It was embarrassing, but better safe than sorry, ya know?

I went to PP for 8-some years to get my depo shot. I made enough money that I didn't qualify for PP discounts, and I had excellent health insurance, but my health ins didn't cover birth control then, so I saved about $50 each time by going to PP as opposed to my Dr & having to pay full price. It's now covered by my health insurance, so I don't go to PP anymore.

I do have a lot of funny stories to tell & I won't put them all down. Nothing happened so bad that I actually stopped going to PP, but odd enough that I considered quitting a few times & have some funny stories now. The on-going theme in my experiences with PP is just general lack of professionalism when compared to a proper Dr's office.

I definitely support PP despite my general feelings.

1 story: I was getting the annual exam. The Nurse Practitioner (I'd had her the year before, so she wasn't new) forgot to prep the pap smear slide ahead of time. So, she put that speculum in, latched it open, then said, "oops, I need to get my slide ready".

She rolled her chair away from me to work on her thing, while that speculum was still secured in the opened position & hanging out of my vagina. Ugh! I just laid there feeling this heavy, cold thing pulling and hanging unsupervised, and wondering if it would fall out on it's own, what would happen if I coughed, how weird it was to feel a breeze on the inside of my vagina, etc.

I just laid there mortified and actually embarrassed because the NP didn't even cover me up when she rolled away from me.

I almost quit going after that one, but decided with all the $$ I was saving by going to PP, I would continue.

oh my! I had a NP do the same thing to me...except it was at a regular hospital. It was so awkward, and like you I was just waiting for it to fall out and clank onto the step getting lube everywhere, haha.

I went to PP for 8-some years to get my depo shot. I made enough money that I didn't qualify for PP discounts, and I had excellent health insurance, but my health ins didn't cover birth control then, so I saved about $50 each time by going to PP as opposed to my Dr & having to pay full price. It's now covered by my health insurance, so I don't go to PP anymore.

I do have a lot of funny stories to tell & I won't put them all down. Nothing happened so bad that I actually stopped going to PP, but odd enough that I considered quitting a few times & have some funny stories now. The on-going theme in my experiences with PP is just general lack of professionalism when compared to a proper Dr's office.

I definitely support PP despite my general feelings.

1 story: I was getting the annual exam. The Nurse Practitioner (I'd had her the year before, so she wasn't new) forgot to prep the pap smear slide ahead of time. So, she put that speculum in, latched it open, then said, "oops, I need to get my slide ready".

She rolled her chair away from me to work on her thing, while that speculum was still secured in the opened position & hanging out of my vagina. Ugh! I just laid there feeling this heavy, cold thing pulling and hanging unsupervised, and wondering if it would fall out on it's own, what would happen if I coughed, how weird it was to feel a breeze on the inside of my vagina, etc.

I just laid there mortified and actually embarrassed because the NP didn't even cover me up when she rolled away from me.

I almost quit going after that one, but decided with all the $$ I was saving by going to PP, I would continue.

I've been to PP before when I didn't have insurance for a year. The staff were not the friendliest people in the world, but they were not rude to me at all. They never told me about the sliding pay scale, but they did ask me if I had a student ID card. Since I did have my old student ID card from college, I paid $15 per BC pack instead of $25. (I actually wasn't a student at that time but I never had to verify that I was -- they just glanced at my card for a second every time I came in). One thing that I liked about PP is that I could pay for as many BC packs as I wanted to at a time, so I didn't have to keep going there every month.


I support PP and I think it's a great organization.