31 Comments

What a whiny, misguided, self-centered person, wasting court time and money to use a generally good cause clearly to her advantage.

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My understanding is that Ms. Currier already has an accomodation, because of dyslexia and ADHD, to take the 9-hour test over 2 days. That’s 4 1/2 hours each day. Certainly she can breast feed right before and then again right after without running the risk of engorgement and mastitis — somehow this story sounds like it could do more harm to the cause of those who believe in breast feeding than good. I’m a total supporter but I’m not sure this woman is a friend to the cause and not just a whiny, entitled person with the means to pay attorneys fees.

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As a physician who has taken this exam (step 2 USMLE) and husband of a physician who is breast feeding and has taken this exam as well, I’m completely against her getting extra time. If she pumps immediately before takes one break and immediately after, she’ll be fine and have no risk of duct blockage/mastitis. You can also eat, etc. during this time. She’s already having special arrangements due to her ADHD anyway. The test is mentally draining and having additional recovery time would be a definite advantage against the other test takers.

If this is such a big deal for her she should wait until she’s done breast feeding and take the test later. Fellowships (which normally start in July … her’s is to start in November, so I suspect they’ve already altered their schedule for her) are offered all of the time and if she wants to defer, I suspect there would be a spot for her.

Finally, if you don’t pass the test because you took a few extra minutes to pump, you probably weren’t prepared for the test to begin with. This test is *not* that hard and the pass rate is greater than 95% … most people who fail are from non-US schools and fail because of a language barrier. She’s at Harvard, for God’s sake. I suspect that if she spent the time she used to file this lawsuit and studied she would have no problem …

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I don’t understand all the comments that suggest Sophie Currier was “already getting a break” by having her ADHD accommodated. A disability accommodation does not give a disabled person an *advantage*. It evens the playing field!!! That’s the point. It gives someone with a documented, legitimate disability a fair opportunity to succeed. As for breastfeeding, this is a similar issue. Why should women have to delay, alter, or quit their professional plans because they disproportionate bear the burden of childbearing and childrearing–because, in fact, they perform this necessary public, social service? They too should be given the opportunity to succeed–and not just for themselves, but for the good they bring to their profession. I don’t think Sophie Currier is the whiner in this story–all the people crying about “special treatment” are. What difference does it make to you??? Do you think she is somehow taking away someone else’s chance to succeed?????

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People need to understand what this woman was asking for. She wanted an hour and 45 minutes for breaks instead of just 45 minutes. She already is getting to take the test over two days instead of one. So she is getting a break right there. Why can’t she pump her milk that morning and bring it with her? Where is her daughter going to be? If her daughtr isn’t going to be with her 24/7, then surely she can pump the milk in the morning. I believe that she should be reasonably taken care of, but this woman is going over the top. She is already given breaks and allowed to split the exam up. What more does she want? I’m sorry, but she has to learn that in the real world we have to make adjustments. Breastfeeding is great, but rules are rules.

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I get concerned when I read others’ concern that Sophie’s being “overaccommodated” because it reveals that we’re still in this mindset of “back in the day I walked to school five miles uphill in the snow both ways and you should too,” instead of welcoming every bit of progress. I’m hoping to keep the the goal in sight instead of getting confused by the details of Sophie’s story!

That goal was and still is– it is *reasonable* for a breastfeeding mother to get time to pump, period.

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I agree. Sophie should also be allowed to bring a gun to the exam.

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It’s because she’s already allotted extra time for her other ‘difficulties’. Where do we draw the line? Is it fair that the man who does not lactate and does not have dyslexia has to take the test in one day, while she gets two and wants MORE time? It’s a standardized test…there needs to be standardization!

from msnbc.com: “The board cited the need to be consistent in the amount of time given to doctoral candidates and said other nursing mothers who have taken the exam have found the 45 minutes of permitted break time sufficient. ”

and…”She has already received special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act for dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, including being granted permission to take the test over two days instead of one. In the lawsuit, she was seeking an additional 60-minute break on each day.”

Exactly how much of a free pass does she want just because she’s breastfeeding? I’m a woman, and I understand the difficulties, but please. She was just waving her milky breasts about in hope of another break, most likely because she failed it the first time.

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I find this all so interesting, I am a working mother – went back to work within weeks of both my children being born and I nursed them both for over a year. I work in a VERY busy environment and only get to pump once a day in the late afternoon and NEVER am I just pumping. I am either eating my lunch, making phone calls, answering email, etc. If I didn’t do all of this it would have been impossible for me to continue my job and nurse. I would love 15 minutes a day to totally relax and do nothing but pump, but the reality is not such. Also, I have 10 sets of pump parts and bottles, so I only wash them once a week on the weekend. I have made my accomidations because I felt it was important. My job does support my role as working mom, but the idea that it all has to be perfect, time to pump, time to relax, time to eat, etc. is just annoying and frankly doesn’t make me want to support this type of accomidations.

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The USMLE is an incredibly difficult exam. Some students spend thousands, even into the tens of thousands of dollars on courses and materials to prepare for this exam. Students spend anywhere from months to a year, maybe more studying for this exam. This exam is incredibly important because the integrity of the exam has been meticulously maintained. Allowing some students to have a time advantage, no matter the reason, destroys the integrity of this exam; this one exam which helps ensure the quality of a future practicing physicians medical education, and the quality of an individual students knowledge they gained from that medical education. I don’t mean to offend, though people will be offended, but, what this young lady is doing is saying, ANYBODY who a good enough reason, should get extra time to take this exam. I could theoretically say I need extra time on the exam to masturbate, because if I don’t, I will get “blue balls”. This is the exact same argument this girl used, well not exact, she would get pain from not draining her breasts. This means anybody with Downs Syndrome, Turner Syndrome, anecepahlics who may live to an age where they would be in a position to take this exam (ok, maybe not in this case) could pass it, given enough time of course. When your Father, has a heart attack, do you want your MD to have Downs Syndrome, and is only an MD because everybody gave him the amount of time needed to overcome his disability, enough to pass the exam at least? When your Daughter has broken her leg, do you want her MD, who is practicing only because he/she was granted 3 months of time to pass his licensing exam while every other MD passed it in 8 hours to treat her? I suspect the answer of the overwhelming majoirity is no. It’s not a matter of her right to breast feed, and it’s not even a matter of her delaying her career. Thousands of students and MD’s like myself who will be taking this exam willingly choose to delay the timing of the exam until we know we are ready for it, phsyically and mentally. If I were scheduled to take the exam next week, and I broke my arm today, I would not take the exam next week. When you take the USMLE and fail it, you are permitted to take it again. When you take the USMLE and get a passing, but barely passing score, you CAN NOT take this exam again to improve your score, thus your chances of securing a really good residency position are jeopardized. It is for this reason that the vast majority of people choose to take the exam when they are in their best condition, and not when they are in their worst. I appreciate this young ladies need to breastfeed, but quite frankly, she suffers absolutely no harm by waiting until she has finished breastfeeding. I would like to point out that this exam, and medical school, are not like any other exam. This exam is incredibly difficult, incredibly stressful. Question for you folks. Did she, a future physician, make the right choice in subjecting herself to this stress at 8 months of pregnancy the first time she failed the exam?? Or did she place her own selfish desires before the wellbeing of her unborn child??

The NBME did offer this young lady more than adequate additional time to breastfeed. Of all physicians, the ladies and gentleman who make up the NBME are probably more versed in providing health care than anybody, and absolutely they wouldn’t have offered this solution to Mrs. Currier if they thought it was not sufficient.

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