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Currier, who lives Brookline, Mass., also has a 22-month-old son, Theo, and has already received special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act for dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Currier is feeling added pressure because she already took the test in April, when she was 8 1/2 months pregnant, and failed by a few points.
Wow, this woman sounds like such a whiner. Remind me never to get a biopsy done at MGH. And what kind of idiotic person schedules their licensing exam at 8.5 months pregnant???
And after they allowed her to do the exam in TWO days, she wants her break extended from 45 minutes to 60 minutes?
Couldn't she pump extra the day or two before and keep bottles in the fridge for her babysitter to give the child? I don't have a kid yet but that's what my friends do when they know they won't have time to pump for most of a day.
She's already getting a lot of time concessions.
I agree... there were other nursing moms who took the test with no problems. One would hate to think that she would use nursing her infant as an excuse or a crutch. I'm not judging her, but that's what it looks like. She's come so far, I hope it works out for her. Anyway... the test is 9 hours?!? I think the board is very nice to allow her to take the test over two days instead of one but I would probably want to get it over with in one day.
I also think it could do with her other disabilities which were mentioned above.
NOBODY should be given extra time on the USMLE. NOBODY. I could give two $hits if they have ADHD. I don't care if this woman's boobs will spontaneously combust if she doesn't pump milk out of them. It's an exam to get to be a doctor for chrissake, you don't get extra bonus time.
What the f^(# is she gonna do when her pts start coding??
"Excuse me Mr. Johnson, could you go ahead and go back into a sinus rhythm for me for a little while, I have ADHD you see, and it'll take me a while longer to figure out how to get you out of this V-tach."
Long-time lurker, I just had to post on this (I'm a huge breastfeeding advocate). While this woman may not be the typical medical student, I think the bigger issue here isn't whether SHE should be allowed extra time, but whether the board should make accomodations for breastfeeding moms. A lot of other places/institutions make accomodations (including no jury duty), why does the NBME think it should be anything different?
Let's not forget that
- she is asking for extra BREAK time, not test time.
- it's not a matter of having enough milk for her baby to eat, it's a matter of her pumping often enough. Her breasts will keep producing milk at the same rate!
- a typical exclusively breastfed 4-month old does nurse every 2-3 hours in the daytime (based on my experience), and she will be in serious pain and risk complications (engorgement, clogged duct, mastitis) indeed if she goes too long before pumping. Some women are very prone to that. She will also most likely start leaking, possibly considerable amounts.
- pumping takes time - at least 20-25 minutes per session (including set-up, pumping, clean up, storing) for the super fast mom with a great letdown reflex, could take much longer depending on the mom, especially in stressful conditions as she would be. A 45-minute break may only be enough for her to pump once, and that is definitely NOT enough.
- because *some* women can and have done it doesn't mean *all* women should. Some women also take no maternity leave, so should that be the standard for all? Maybe she needs to pump more often, maybe she produces more, maybe she is a slow pumper, maybe she's prone to mastitis. I don't see why the NBME would refuse to even consider giving any woman an accomodation for breastfeeding, which is not only her right, but better for her baby's health.
It's easy to focus on this woman's particular circumstances, but let's focus on the big picture too! What if she wasn't receiving other accomodations, and hadn't failed the test before? Would you think it ridiculous for her to ask for extra BREAK time (not TEST time)?
I'm surprised that, as a future OB/GYN, you think it is acceptable that her choices should be
1) wean her child
2) postpone her test and most likely delay graduation
3) risk mastitis/clogged duct/extreme discomfort.
As you said, you know the benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and child, but you still recommend that she weans her child *just* so that she can take the test in acceptable conditions? That's a pretty big sacrifice. I'm aware it was her choice to have children, but this is a sad choice to have forced upon her. What next? Be a physician OR have children? Take zero maternity leave OR don't have children at all?
I personally only see extra break time as a minor accomodation (testing time would be different, of course), and as I said before, accomodations for breastfeeding are made in many other arenas (in some cases, mandated by state laws). I find it a bit hypocritical that a MEDICAL board wouldn't support breastfeeding.
She already failed. She's in big trouble if she fails again, so she could very well be looking for ways to make it less likely that she fails again.
I'm surprised that, as a future OB/GYN...
...I find it a bit hypocritical that a MEDICAL board wouldn't support breastfeeding.
So do lactating women have to wake up several times during the night to pump? I guess they have to feed the baby anyways...
This is why I'm never having kids. I value sleep more than baby.
So do lactating women have to wake up several times during the night to pump? I guess they have to feed the baby anyways...
This is why I'm never having kids. I value sleep more than baby.
Again, I don't think her priorities should force her to choose between weaning or delaying graduation.
Delaying graduation because you want to take time off with your kids is great! Delaying graduation because you can't take a test in reasonable conditions unless you wean your kid is a bit extreme to me. I really cared about breastfeeding with my kids and would certainly not have weaned just so I could take a test; some people don't care about it that much and would wean without second thoughts and that's OK for them.
As for baby boomers, their moms drank and smoked the whole pregnancy too, and they turned out OK... Sure, formula is nowadays well-designed, very nutritious, and a fantastic alternative to breastmilk, but again, weaning just to take a one-day test when very simple accomodations could be made is too much to ask, but that's just me.
Alright, I'm off. Nice talking to you! Good night.
Judging from the rest of the facts, I doubt that breastfeeding is her real issue. In fact, I tend to think that if this is a woman who has had to pay people to read to her due to her ADHD as others pointed out, (keeping in mind other people cope with ADHD just fine by exercising, yoga, medication if worse come to worse on their own. I know because I have some very good friends in real life that have admitted to having to cope with this disease for years), and if this is a woman who has also had dyslexia and failed once before, then it is reasonable to assume that there is a good possibility she's not really doing this in the name of breastfeeding mothers and possibly wants the extra time for other reasons.
Besides, she already had a child once before and she coped so how come she can't cope now?
So I don't want to necessarily directly defend her, but I have to defend breastfeeding and pumping. How many of you have actually pumped? Think of the real time it takes. You have to go to a private place (inevitably a dirty bathroom, since there is rarely anywhere else to pump), set up all the supplies (have you ever actually seen a battery powered breat pump? it's not a one step operation), start pumping, wait for the let-down, empty your supply, disassemble everything, clean all the individual parts (or else they clog and are too disgusting to use for the next pumping session) and store everything.
At times, it would take me 30 minutes or more for the whole process. And no one can say how many times a particular woman needs to pump or how long it will take to empty her out. At the height of nursing (around the 4 or 5 month mark), I would often have to pump 3 times in an 8 hour period to avoid excruciating pain. Other women can go much longer. It also varies greatly with the age of the child. There is no standard.
Maybe she is prone to mastitis. Who knows. I just don't want everyone jumping to conclusions about what she should or shouldn't do based on what you have been told that your friends do, but you haven't actually experienced yourself.
Reading through her ADHD symptoms list made me think I have ADHD
But more seriously, I think her dyslexia is for real, so if they're making her take the test without some kinda auditory aid then the 2nd day might be warranted. I honestly don't see why she would need so much extra break time to milk though...45 minutes is still a decent deal of break time. Plus, she can probably milk ahead of time anyway so she wouldn't have to milk as much on exam day.
The fact that she's asking extra time for this makes me doubt that she even has ADHD, since it just makes it look like she uses any excuse to get an edge. Can't believe she got into MIT and HMS (MD-PhD no less) and got a residency (in path no less) at MGH...grr... How exactly did they decide that she's competent if she seems to have so much trouble taking any sort of test?!
Judging from the rest of the facts, I doubt that breastfeeding is her real issue. In fact, I tend to think that if this is a woman who has had to pay people to read to her due to her ADHD as others pointed out, (keeping in mind other people cope with ADHD just fine by exercising, yoga, medication if worse come to worse on their own. I know because I have some very good friends in real life that have admitted to having to cope with this disease for years), and if this is a woman who has also had dyslexia and failed once before, then it is reasonable to assume that there is a good possibility she's not really doing this in the name of breastfeeding mothers and possibly wants the extra time for other reasons.
Besides, she already had a child once before and she coped so how come she can't cope now?
Apparently reading will no longer be required of physicians, so we should exclude all tests that require it from medical training for people with ADHD or dyslexia.
Patients will be required by the Americans With Disabilities act to bring readers to read their charts for her. Failure to do so will result in a lawsuit. Also, she will receive a "time accomodation" from insurance companies so she can bill for a 25 minute outpatient visit instead of the normal 15.
Patients will be required by the Americans With Disabilities act to bring readers to read their charts for her. Failure to do so will result in a lawsuit. Also, she will receive a "time accomodation" from insurance companies so she can bill for a 25 minute outpatient visit instead of the normal 15.
Says my classmate. Posting at 1am with lecture at 8am.
Actually, my wife pumped AND had mastitis twice, and I can tell you (and she would tell you too), that this is utter garbage. We all have advantages and disadvantages. The rules should be the same for everyone, or the idea of a minimum standard of competence flies out the window.
I pumped AND had mastitis three times. Just proves what I said before. Not every woman is the same, so you can't judge her based on your wife's experience.
but you can judge her based on the fact that she's done this before and never brought this issue up before. So why now?