I’d be curious in what sense of the word “ignorant” the writers that are critiquing individuals claims that Dr. Currier does not have these rights are. “Ignorant” indicates that one has not closely examined the issue or have an understanding of the legalities at play.

Additionally, the fact that you have 3 women in your family with PhD’s and children is wonderful but irrelevant.

The legalities of the case based on the court proceedings are:

(1) whether breastfeeding women are legally entitled to a level playing field with men and non-breastfeeding women when taking an exam that controls entry into a profession.

(2) if they are, how much additional time makes the field level.

The appeals court decided that:

(1) discrimination on the basis of lactation is sex discrimination prohibited by the Massachusetts Equal Rights Amendment (the Lone Star state may not have Equal Rights, I have not researched it)

(2) Currier offered three experts who agreed on the amount of time necessary for the average women (not you, me, or Currier) to pump while the Board offered NO experts saying a woman could do it in less time. The Board offered NO experts at all on the issue of how much time was needed to pump.

Argument 1: The fact that Currier got extra time because of her other disabilities is irrelevant. That issue is a separate one around her disabilities and legally it must be assumed that she needs all that time for other reasons. With the test being 2 days long at 9 hours a day, it would require at least 3 pumping breaks (assuming I could pump immediately before and immediately after). At 20-25 min/pump, she would most likely need over 45 minutes and has argued that she does.

Obviously, not all women produce milk the same. Some can pump less often and others must pump more often. Some can be done in 15 minutes, while for others take up to an hour to empty. I have not seen anyone provide data that shows what the mean and covariance are on pumping times for women, but that would be important in creating policy–the experts in the case were present to discuss this issue.

This decision will affect all future pumping test-takers, most of whom will not have the extra time due to the disabilities. The fact that some people may have time in the breaks given to all to also do this extra thing she has been found to be legally entitled to do is irrelevant. She has an additional thing she must do and is legally entitled to the extra time needed to do it.

Argument 2: The break would be between sections of the test and that they would simply be longer so that she could pump. Therefore, she would not be able to read notes, think about questions, etc. She would just have time to get the pumping done and then go back to test taking.

Argument 3: Lactation is a physical issue of leaking and engorgement that can’t be controlled. I doubt that pumping is so relaxing that it would give a mother an advantage. I think that pumping during an exam would be stressful, something else to attend to and therefore not an advantage.

Argument 4: Given that medical field training is long and extended and often occurs during prime female reproductive years, the pumping accommodation should be made. Why should she delay having children or chosen not to breastfeed?

For professional women, there is no good time to have children. So the argument that she should have waited to have kids at another time is ignorant and inappropriate. If women wait until their training is completely done in their 40’s, they have serious fertility issues to deal with amongst other things. Suggesting that there are jobs that are incompatible with motherhood/breastfeeding deprives our society of some very talented contributions.

As a woman, I believe that I should be able to both pursue having a family and be a talented doctor. Dr. Currier’s efforts are leveling the playing field I would argue.

-asmartwoman

Cremina87: Your bathroom argument is as senseless as the people who are trying to claim she has a disability. YOU CHOOSE TO HAVE A BABY. You choose to breastfeed that baby. I have to use the restroom and I doubt seriously that most disabled people chose their lifestyles either.

As for people being compassionate by rearranging their schedule around lactating physicians-this idea that you have to accomodate pregnant women is so pitiful. They do not have diseases or disabilities. They may get ill and should be treated like everyone else who falls ill. But show compassion for a person doing something women have been doing since the beginning of time? That’s absurd. We know the risks of pregnancy and you have to arrange your life around a baby not everyone else arrange things around you and your baby.

As a medical student pointed out she could have taken her test many times. She should not be applauded. Possibly commended if she did all of this without asking for special treatment. The fact that she chose to breastfeed her children for a year may be something she’s very proud of. Fine, no one has said yet what that has to do with the school and other test takers.

And if her child is 4 months old that means she knew for nearly a year that she would be breastfeeding during the test. Seems like better planning was in order.

This is her decision as an adult and a woman. It was her decision to get pregnant and hers to breastfeed.

We are lucky that there are women out there like Dr. Currier, who continue to push the envelope and will continue to do so, much to your chagrin.

-An Ivy-league trained woman

In response to meadow the lawyer:
Other test takers are allowed adequate time and privacy to excete their bodily fluids. Lactating women deserve the same accomodation that other students get for their physiologic needs. The NBME does not make test takers use glass-walled toilets. “Accomodating” Ms. Currier by making her pump in a glass-walled examination room is offensive and wrong.

To all the people making such clever “milking it” puns: maybe you should attach your name to those posts so that the Onion and the Daily Show can contact you if they need writers. Oh, was that a personal comment–after reading your pained and angry Sophie-has-done-me-wrong-she’s-so-entitled blah blah blah ANONYMOUS comments: you sound like a bunch of angry petty people.

For the person with stomach flu during the boards, I’m sorry you had that experience. It must have been uncomfortable. But, do you really think other people should have to suffer because you did? The big reason NBME is going to fight this tooth and nail is they currently make no accomodations for any condition that is not directly covered by the ADA. If Ms. Currier’s case stands, it will be the tip of the iceburg for them. And that will be a good thing and not a “danger to the American public” They will have to show the same compassion toward students that we as a medical profession show patients. What a novelty! The American Board of Family Medicine allows untimed pumping breaks for nursing moms (in addition to the scheduled lunch break everyone gets).

To anonymous who posted on MassachusettsMom site: your clinical example is absurd. If a cancer patient dies on the table it’s not because of the pathologist. This is the same type of inflammatory arguement the NBME is trying to make when they say they need to protect the safety of the American public. The USMLE is just one part of the checks and balances in place to moniter a student’s performance and to assure competency.

As I wrote in my response to that post, many work places accomodate lactating physicians without difficulty, and in such settings, women are able to plan ahead, pump at appropriate times, and make coverage arrangements with colleagues, who will hopefully be more compassionate and understanding than this web community is.

To tiny shrink: you obviously know nothing about breastfeeding. Could you pee extra today so that you don’t have to pee on Saturday? Ok and then on Saturday (after you’ve done all that peeing ahead of time), why don’t you drink a bunch of water and then “delay (peeing) for the few (that’s NINE) hours of the test each day.”

About a career in pathology: reading a slide or looking at specimens is really different from reading a book. Being a slow reader doesn’t make someone dumb — it should be pretty obvious that Ms. Currier isn’t dumb – considering that she got into 2 of the most prestigous schools in the country and got a combined MD Ph.D in 7 years (especially since most Ph.D’s take 5-6 years, see NY times article 10/2/07). People want the best/most accurate cancer diagnosis, not the quickest. People who like to make split second decisions go into emergency medicine. The rest of us pick specialties where we can take the time we need to make the best decision possible for our patients.

The same Charles Krauthammer that took his life in another direction after the psych residency. You’ve probably seen his publications if you read Time or the Washington Post. Or see him in the wheelchair on Fox News.

He did need “accomodation” in the form of having someone help wheel him from patient to patient.

I’m sorry this lady’s breasts are sore. I bet Krauthammer would have been happy to trade afflictions.

“Male society”…..sheesh.

Those of you who do, just answer one simple question — how can a “scholar” who CANNOT EVEN SPELL THE NAME OF HER OWN BLOG CORRECTLY be trusted with minute medical data? Back when her blog was actually up and open to public viewing, EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE SHE WROTE had a grammatical or spelling error.

I cannot believe that anyone would be able to progress so far in a career that requires attention to detail and be unable to spell or write at the level of a middle school student.

A hundred years from now, people will look back in complete disbelief at what some ignoramuses have said, “Kevin, M.D.” included. How a medical licensing board would refuse time for a woman to pump breast milk is beyond me.