Harvard med student takes NBME to court for extra pumping time during Step 2 CK
09/12/07 08:54 Filed in: Medical
I'm not quite sure I got enough details to decide if
I agree, but this was an interesting article
nonetheless. A medical student is taking the
National Board of Medical
Examiners to court in order to get extra
time to pump during the Step 2 CK exam. I think it's
reasonable to ask for some extra time, even
though I think that many students would probably
just try to deal with it as best they could
(pump before starting, take half the test, pump
during a 45 minute break, then take the other
half, and pump immediately afterwards). Maybe
I'm just a pushover when it comes to these
things. In any case, I think a reasonable
request should be considered.
There is also the added complication that she is already taking the test over 2 days to accommodate her dyslexia and ADHD. Perhaps that is part of the reason why the NBME is reluctant. I'm not sure if I have this straight, but it sounds like she is taking half the test each day (so 4.5 hours per day). I can't tell if she is requesting an additional 60 minutes on top of a 45 minute break, but I'm not sure why this all matters (105 break minutes strikes me as somewhat excessive though). On one hand, what is the harm in giving her the extra time to pump, but on the other hand, based on my own experiences, 45 minutes could be sufficient to pump once during the half-day session (but then again, every woman is different). I can totally see both sides - breastfeeding advocates might cry foul, but medical students might fret, since the test is given under stressful circumstances as it is, and other than the minimum time needed to pump, any extra time would be unfair. So I guess the tough part is trying to determine what a reasonable time period is.
She has a supportive physician stating it is insufficient time (though it is a rather generalized statement), so she's got good backup. However, when I read the statements, I felt it was a bit over-dramatized. I guess it's possible that she expresses milk very slowly and needs a lot of time. I'm not sure how I feel, but I just don't see what the harm would be to just give her the extra time (even if I don't think you really need all that time). It's so bizarre that this can be such a big deal.
Breastfeeding certainly has been in the limelight - I don't see why people get so bent out of shape about it (from both sides). I do think moms should be discreet, and I get frustrated when it's clear that some moms are trying to make a statement when they feed their baby, because I don't really think it helps the cause. In any case, I'm not going to get into it, since I don't think it's easy to convey one's opinions on a written platform like this without your words being totally misconstrued. I'm all for breastfeeding, but I totally respect a woman's ability to choose what she wants to do (including formula - gasp!). And even though it is a mother's right to be able to feed her child the way she wants to, how one goes about requesting it will certainly affect the response. And demanding something vs. being amenable to reasonable compromise might not always get what you want. Baby steps, right?
There is also the added complication that she is already taking the test over 2 days to accommodate her dyslexia and ADHD. Perhaps that is part of the reason why the NBME is reluctant. I'm not sure if I have this straight, but it sounds like she is taking half the test each day (so 4.5 hours per day). I can't tell if she is requesting an additional 60 minutes on top of a 45 minute break, but I'm not sure why this all matters (105 break minutes strikes me as somewhat excessive though). On one hand, what is the harm in giving her the extra time to pump, but on the other hand, based on my own experiences, 45 minutes could be sufficient to pump once during the half-day session (but then again, every woman is different). I can totally see both sides - breastfeeding advocates might cry foul, but medical students might fret, since the test is given under stressful circumstances as it is, and other than the minimum time needed to pump, any extra time would be unfair. So I guess the tough part is trying to determine what a reasonable time period is.
She has a supportive physician stating it is insufficient time (though it is a rather generalized statement), so she's got good backup. However, when I read the statements, I felt it was a bit over-dramatized. I guess it's possible that she expresses milk very slowly and needs a lot of time. I'm not sure how I feel, but I just don't see what the harm would be to just give her the extra time (even if I don't think you really need all that time). It's so bizarre that this can be such a big deal.
Breastfeeding certainly has been in the limelight - I don't see why people get so bent out of shape about it (from both sides). I do think moms should be discreet, and I get frustrated when it's clear that some moms are trying to make a statement when they feed their baby, because I don't really think it helps the cause. In any case, I'm not going to get into it, since I don't think it's easy to convey one's opinions on a written platform like this without your words being totally misconstrued. I'm all for breastfeeding, but I totally respect a woman's ability to choose what she wants to do (including formula - gasp!). And even though it is a mother's right to be able to feed her child the way she wants to, how one goes about requesting it will certainly affect the response. And demanding something vs. being amenable to reasonable compromise might not always get what you want. Baby steps, right?
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