Medical Student Is Allowed Time To Pump Breast Milk During Exam, US Appeal Court

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Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics;  Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 28 Sep 2007 - 4:00 PDT

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A Massachusetts appeal court has ruled that a medical student is allowed to have more time to pump breast milk during an all day exam, said the New York Times on Thursday.

The ruling overturns an earlier judgement by a Superior Court judge last week that rejected the plea by Harvard student, Sophie Currier, 33, of Brookline, Massachusetts, who sued the National Board of Medical Examiners for not granting her request for more than the standard 45 minutes total break time during the nine-hour medical licensing exam, said a report by the Associated Press (AP).

In a 26-page ruling, Judge Gary Katzmann ruled that Currier be allowed the extra 60 minutes she asked to have during the nine-hour exam so she can pump breast milk to feed her baby daughter who is 4 months old.

Refusing her extra time meant that Ms Currier had to choose either to "use her break time to incompletely express breast milk and ignore her bodily functions, or abdicate her decision to express breast milk, resulting in significant pain," said Katzmann.

Granting her request would put her on an "equal footing" with other exam students said the ruling.

The National Board of Medical Examiners said they would appeal, but in the meantime Ms Currier would be granted the extra time if the new ruling is still effective when she takes the exam next week.

If she passes the exam, Ms Currier will get her medical degree and can start her residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, said the New York Times.

According to the AP report, Ms Currier said the ruling was "a big step for women, all nursing and working moms".

The AP reported that Currier has also received special accommodations for dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) under the Americans with Disabilities Act to allow her to take the test over two days instead of one.

According to information from the examining board, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization, represented by attorney Joseph Savage, Ms Currier was offered a separate testing room to express milk during the test or during the alloted break times, as well as the option to leave the test centre altogether during the allotted break time to breast feed.

However, it would seem that this was not the issue for Ms Currier, it was the amount of time available to attend to these extra bodily needs, which for a lactating mother, she maintained, were over and above those of her peers taking the exam.

Ms Currier has had two babies in the last two years, whilst also completing a joint MD-PhD at Harvard University. She wants to become a medical researcher.

Click here to see the Appeal Court public case information on the ruling.

Click here for the New York Times report.

Click here for Associated Press report.

Written by: Catharine Paddock
Copyright: Medical News Today
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