Are you a "doc"?

[Crush]

My mother recently had cataract surgery. She is a retired college professor. When they introduced her as "Dr." to the staff at the eye surgery center, they assumed she was an M.D. and gave her the first class version of treatment.

LOL. I believe that!

When I was learning the fine art of scholarly writing in graduate school, I was warned to be careful about using the title "professor" when referencing someone who had published something to which you were referring.

It is convention at universities (at least in North America) to refer to an instructor as "Professor" regardless of whether the instructor has a PhD or not. Further, "Professor" is seen to be more prestigious than "Doctor." Finally, if one is unsure (in a university setting) whether or not a non-Professor has a PhD one is to err on the side of caution and refer to them as "Doctor."

Personally, much like ScubaDocER, when someone refers to me as "Doctor" I usually demure and suggest that they use my first name.

 

[covediver]

While I used my title sparingly, I am amazed at the legs that it has. At the college, many students used the honorific "Doctor" as did staff and townspeople (although behind my back they were probably saying something else). Fifteen years later and no longer teaching, I now consider many of these former students to be my contemporaries, some do have Ph.D.'s, and despite my insistence that they call me by my first name, they still use the term "doctor".

I recall one of my professors once related that in Germany where he grew up "professor" signified that you had a Ph.D. and taught at a university; while "doctor" signified that you had a doctorate and were employed outside of teaching.

As a footnote, I learned many years ago that the press officers at the University of California had a style guide which advised that university-employed ph.d.'s be referred to as "Dr." in university publications but non-university ph.d.'s were referred to as Mr. or Ms. as the case may be...

on anther note, where has Drbill been lately?

 

[Scotttyd]

As a marketer I've gotta say that if you don't consider everyone who walks in the door a customer - whether they are currently making a purchase or not - it's probably a good thing you don't work in the retail setting.



(PS - apart from the potential liability issue which I understand; drug-drug interactions, other concomitant meds, comorbid conditions, etc.)

good point - what I meant by that statement is that I am taking professional liability in discussion rx's filled at another store, mail order, etc
Giving OTC advice is a completely different discussion.

 

[Dr. Doug Ebersole]

I'm a cardiologist -- but that's what I do, not who I am. It's just a means to pay for my diving. Other than with patients, I prefer "Doug"

 

[ScubaDocER]

I'm a cardiologist -- but that's what I do, not who I am. It's just a means to pay for my diving. Other than with patients, I prefer "Doug"

My thoughts exactly!!! One of the things that keeps me motivated to practice medicine is that it allows me to enjoy this hobby that I love so much. I am so grateful to medicine for all of the opportunities that it has given me. But I LOVE diving!!

 

[Sas]

I notice that even chiropractors and opthamologists refer to themselves as "Doctors" in the US, which all looks a little bit aggrandising to the European eye. Not trying to troll (I know there are plenty of them on the board), but just sayin'.

Well my regular dive buddy has a phd in physics, so always puts Dr. down as his title. I asked him if it bothered him if people said Mr, or if he was really insistent on the Dr. and he said he puts it down because people treat him well if they think he is a doctor (and I guess usually assume a medical doctor). He told me I should try it too, as no one ever asks him for verification So anyway, that could be why some people really like the title, for the free stuff and better treatment that it can get them, rather than to be aggrandising just for the sake of it

 

[doctormike]

Wow, what an active thread! I had forgotten about it… here are some thoughts:


1) I got the "doctor" badge on my SB profile automatically when I was asked to be a medical moderator. Of course, this doesn't mean that my opinion is always correct, and I am careful to restrict my moderator-type posts to areas where I have some expertise. However, I think that it is useful when plowing through a long, detailed thread to have some sort of annotation like this, especially for people new to the board who might not know all the locals…

2) One of my pet peeves is when I am seeing a patient, and my front desk staff breaks in and says "Dr. So-and-so is on the line, and he asked for you to be interrupted". I will OCCASIONALLY do this to another doctor if there is some sort of emergency, and I can't wait for a callback at the end of the day. But then I pick up the phone and the guy (who I don't know, and who often isn't an MD) says "Oh, HI! Remember my kid, you saw her two months ago? Well, she had another ear infection, what should we do?".

3) Another of my pet peeves is luxury cars with MD plates on them. For some reason, they tend to get keyed… wonder why?

4) I introduce myself to patients and their families as Mike. Most people like that, but I guess some don't. Hey, who wants to pay all that money just to see "Mike"..?



5) I think that an attorney forum would be a great idea. I find this stuff fascinating, and even though the law does vary from venue to venue, general comments and perspective are always helpful. I have been running kidsent.com for 12 years now, have several thousand threads with people about patients that I will never see, but I have found that GENERAL comments and local referrals are VERY helpful, even if I can't actually diagnose or treat anyone online…

6) English surgeons do NOT like being called doctor, from what I recall. I did my OB/GYN rotation at the Royal Free Hospital in London (years ago), and this is what I remember. You are a "doctor" when you are at the intern/resident level of training (house officer, and maybe registrar), but when you become a qualified surgeon (a consultant) you are a "mister" again (unless you are academic, in which case you are a professor).

 

[drbill]

I was called Dr. Bill long before I went back to graduate school to get my Ph.D. I used to "lecture" on marine life for a local tour company and their crew gave me the nickname. It stuck, so I figured I'd better go spend thousands of $$$ to earn it. I'm now a kelp forest ecologist, or a divebum if you choose.

 

[MichiganScott]

I was called Dr. Bill long before I went back to graduate school to get my Ph.D. I used to "lecture" on marine life for a local tour company and their crew gave me the nickname. It stuck, so I figured I'd better go spend thousands of $$$ to earn it. I'm now a kelp forest ecologist, or a divebum if you choose.

Forgive my ignorance, but I'm not familiar with "kelp forest ecologist", so I don't know if you can answer this but, we hear a lot about changing animal life over the millennia, but what about the "kelp forest"? How drastically has the underwater flora and fauna changed? Is there much in the way of fossilized remains? What about extinct species? What have we lost?

 

[Rhone Man]

It is convention at universities (at least in North America) to refer to an instructor as "Professor" regardless of whether the instructor has a PhD or not. Further, "Professor" is seen to be more prestigious than "Doctor." Finally, if one is unsure (in a university setting) whether or not a non-Professor has a PhD one is to err on the side of caution and refer to them as "Doctor."

I think it is different in the UK - in UK you may only use the term "Professor" if you hold a chair at a University, irrespective of whether or not you hold a PhD (lots of PhDs are not professors, and lots of professors don't have PhDs).

Funnily enough, probably the best teacher I ever had whilst I was at University was Professor Roy Goode at Oxford, and he never attended University as a student at all much less held any advanced degrees. The only degrees he possessed were honorary ones. But he was an extraordinarily bright and gifted man.