Harvard MD-PhD Wins Extra Test-Time for Boob-Pumping > breastfeeding, Harvard, medical

Harvard MD-PhD Wins Extra Test-Time for Boob-Pumping

by Maureen O'Connor | October 8, 2007 at 10:09 am

Harvard MD-PhD Wins Extra Test-Time for Boob-Pumping The titillating ruling from an appellate court in Boston: Harvard MD-PhD and new mother Sophie Currier deserves extra time to pump her breasts during a 9-hour medical licensing exam. The Associated Press reports that, after failing the exam by a few points, almost-Dr. Currier sued the National Board of Medical Examiners for extra time to deal with her mammaries. The district court ruled in Currier's favor, and the appeals court upheld their rule. But the Board plans to appeal again, which would bring this battle over medical-practicing mom-boobs to the state's Supreme Court.

Why so prude, Medical Examiners? Their lawyer notes that Currier, who holds an MD-PhD from Harvard, is already using the Americans with Disabilities Act to acquire a private examination room and extend her testing period to two days (everyone else will be doing it in one) due to dyslexia and ADHD. If the 24-hour break (compared to everybody else's 45 minutes) isn't enough, couldn't she use her private room to pump while she pencils in scantron bubbles? The notion of which boggles the mind and makes for some severely strange mental images.

While whiny test-takers (especially those fantasizing they have learning disabilities despite being smart enough to get into Harvard's MD-PhD program) irk us, it's hard to fault the lady. She'd be crazy not to do whatever it takes to pass that damn test and start getting rich curing cancer or whatever.

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6 Responses to “Harvard MD-PhD Wins Extra Test-Time for Boob-Pumping”

brown alumna Says:
October 8th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Because pumping requires two hands, simultaneously pumping and eating lunch would be difficult. But I don’t understand why she couldn’t simply nurse her baby during her regular break times. Ask any mother… you quickly learn to eat, cook, talk on phone, send email, sign for UPS, etc, all while breastfeeding. I am very pro-breastfeeding, but this “problem” seems trumped up to me.
princeton alumna Says:
October 8th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
As a woman, I’m all for women and men being on equal footing, but I find the fact that she’s having an extra day to complete the test due to her dyslexia and ADHD quite disturbing. She apparently made it through MIT because the school hired students to read to her and gave her extra time to complete exams. And, this will be the second time she takes the medical licensing exam–she failed her first time. Do you really want this woman to be your doctor or medical researcher? I think not. And before I get flamed, I personally have a very mild form of ADHD and even if my grades had been good enough for med school, I would never dare enter a profession where someone’s life could be in my hands.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/10/05/harvard_student_will_get_extra_break_time_to_pump_breast_milk/

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2006/06/26/hyperactive_adults_need_help_too/?page=3
princeton alumna Says:
October 8th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
As evidenced by my unintentional multiple postings above, see what I mean? The thought of Sophie Currier as a physician scares the living daylights out of me…
I call BS Says:
October 9th, 2007 at 12:49 am
There is NO way that breast belongs to an Ivy woman. Not even a Barnard woman. Maybe Pine Mattress?
columbia 11 Says:
October 9th, 2007 at 4:26 am
well, luckily for you princeton alumna, the vast majority of md/phd students don’t actually practice and end up doing some sort of research/academia/private sector work with their degrees.
Upstate MDPHD Says:
December 8th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
This is utter bullshit.
I’m a female MDPhD and have a child. I have never used ADHD nor dyslexia nor my need to breast pump as reasons to scrape by after failing an exam.
I have female friends in MDPhD programs who are in identical situations
Women like myself chose our degree program, we chose to have kids, we were and are fully aware of all the complications and time constraints.
I’m ashamed and shocked by this woman’s pissing around. She needs to stick some pads in her bra, change them every time she goes to the bathroom and study hard enough to pass the damn exam!!!