Medical student sues for exam breaks to pump breast milk

Every three hours makes sense if she has such a small child. Also, the need to express milk changes from body to body. I agree that if they can accommodate her other differences, they should accommodate this one, too.

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Every three hours makes sense if she has such a small child. Also, the need to express milk changes from body to body. I agree that if they can accommodate her other differences, they should accommodate this one, too.

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Every three hours makes sense if she has such a small child. Also, the need to express milk changes from body to body. I agree that if they can accommodate her other differences, they should accommodate this one, too.

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I know that I'm going to take heat for this one, but perhaps Ms. Currier should re-examine her priorities. Frankly, I don't want a doctor who has to have so many allowances so that she can get her degree.

One reason that students must sit for examinations is to see if they can stand the pressure of their chosen career. She is showing that she can't. She has already pled for, and received, special consideration, and it looks to me like she is just pushing that line to see how far she can go. I know from experience that you can pump a bit to relieve pressure, and that would only take her 10-15 minutes. Sure, she may have to discard that milk, or pump at each break, but that's the breaks.

What's going to happen if she takes up residency immediately? Is she going to tell her patient, "Sorry, I can't finish your diagnosis/surgery/appointment right now because I have to go pump"?

Maybe she should postpone her life for a little while, and realize that her child is the most important thing right now. Plenty of us have done it and survived. Even thrived.

I think it's just plain selfish on her part.

I'm all for 'breastfeeding rights' but I also think that there have to be some limits.

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I completly agree with you LS. Sorry to all I may offend but I do. Don't you think they are giving her enough as it is if they are already bending over backwards to accomadate her other "ills"? It's not as much to me the "breastfeeding" but she should have to do what everyone else has to do.

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Why can't she just take the exam in a private room with the proctor in the back of the room? Then she can pump while she tests. It might not be the easiest thing in the world, but it could be done and it wouldn't require an extra break. If she got creative she could figure out a way to have the pump attached hands free so she could continue testing. I know there are ways of doing that. Again, not the easiest perhaps, but if she wants to be a doctor with a very young child she needs to figure out how to multi-task!

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This is a tough one. On the one hand, it does seem like she's pushing the system a bit too far.

But then, reading the article, wow! Two babies in the past two years while also completing a joint MD-PhD at Harvard and already offered a residency. She is looking to go into medical research, rather than "be your doctor", which means that her other disabilities will be more readily managed in the course of her work. To have come this far, she must be doing something right. This is the final step to her residency.

I suppose that rather than seeing this as an individual case, it really does come back to highlight the need for some real breastfeeding right legislation. We don't want to continue the trend of formula feeding out of necessity for women to remain independent and career oriented. When women are required to be members of the workforce (and whether or not we enjoy our careers, in most families working outside of the home really is no longer a choice), we must make allowances for something that is a basic human right. Feeding babies the way that babies are meant to be fed.

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I agree that she should not be allowed extra time. I'm an experienced breastfeeder and 45 mins is definitely enoug time to pump. I also agree that the test is meant to mimic the rigors of the job and that it is a matter of her priorities. She should either give the baby an occasional bottle or stay home with her full-time!

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I have to respond to LS and Joy as my family has a history of ADHA and Dyslexia. These "ills" do not make anyone less able to be a professional they just make the road there a challenge. My sister has ADHD & Dyslexia and holds multiple degrees. She is one of the most intelligent people I know. She was studying to be a lawyer and had to ask for concessions because all of the concessions were not given she was unable to keep up and was released from the law school. They told her that people with learning disabilities could not be lawyers. I say that anyone who works as hard as people with learning disabilities do to succeed make the best professionals because the cherish the fact that they have succeeded and don’t take it for granted. Trust me when I say that if it was your child you would think differently.

That said… This young woman has proven that she is a hard worker; 2 babies in 2 years while completing a joint MD-PhD at Harvard says it all. They should just let her pump, it is a medical issue.

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This wasn't an issue of breasfeeding to me. It is about a "career" that she wanted. She should have to do what all other students do. That's all I meant. I have two boys with ADHD and I was a special ed teacher for 27 years. It's not about that either. There are ways to get things done. I applaud her wanting to better herself. Why would she have had two children at this important time??

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My biggest problem is those of you who feel the need to dicate her life. If she wants to have kids while pursuiing a medical degree, that's her business. Just because she wants to have a life outside of her children doesn't mean her kids aren't number one in her life. Did it ever occur to you that perhaps her significant other, parent, etc. is helping her raise the children? There's nothing wrong with asking people for help. Also, having disabilities does not mean you are incapable of doing anything in life. You'd probably be shocked to know how many "disabled" individuals are very high achieving, including those who have autism (which many thought means you can't succeed in life). Saying that she couldn't be a doctor is not only ignorant, it's discriminating. And if you actually read the article instead of mkaing a quick judgment, you'd see she has a MD/PhD because she wants to do medical RESEARCH. Getting the PhD in addition to the MD means she plans to work in a lab instead of just counsel patients. And all the ones talking about the importance of the medical test probably haven't experienced any major tests. A test where you're asked to know an EXTREME amount of information in no way, shape, or form mimics a real life medical situation. Unless she was pursuing emergency medicine, which she isn't, she would be able to think things through and consult with other doctors. Sitting still for 9 hours is not something a doctor will need to do. She can't sit for 9 hours, but she can take the test. It's not like she's asking to be able to fail the exam snd still be given her MD/Phd. The test is determining your knowledge, but the learning process never ends for doctors as they will continue to learn throughout their careers, with experience and more scientific advances. No doctor will remember every single thing they had to know for their medical exam. If fact, much of the minor details might never be needed during the course of their careers (it all depends on their chosen specialties).

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Joy I really don't get your point. You have sons with ADHD, have seen children struggle for 27 years with disabilites, so instead of applauding this woman, you feel the need to criticize her? You say these "ills" aren't legitimate reasons to be granted more time. You of all people should know that having certain "disabilities" doesn't dis-able you from becoming successful in life, it just makes it hard to do things like sit for a 9 hour exam. That in no way means she can't be good at her career, where she will not have to sit for so long. She's not mentally retarded and asking if she can fail her exam and still be allowed to pass. So you think someone with these so-called "ills" shouldn't do anything, and instead collect disability checks every week?

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