Why is it considered pretentious for non-MDs who have doctorates to use their title?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about in a medical setting? Are you okay with a nurse practitioner with a doctorate in nursing saying- hi I’m doctor blank, how can I help you today? Or a pharmacist / physical therapist? All are doctors?

I think that in a professional hospital environment only MDs should use doctor to avoid confusion. Outside of the hospital, anyone who wants to go by doctor should be able to.

You, if you are the doctor dork, can do what ever you want. A number of us are trying to communicate how you will be perceived.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you think of a chiropractor who switched to teaching middle school and refers to themselves as Dr. X?

I think this is just ridiculous since you asked! I call my chiropractor and cranial sacral (phd) people by their first names.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because if you introduce yourself as Dr, 99 percent of people will assume you are a medical doctor. And when they learn you are throwing around the dr suffix when all you have is a little extra studying of "education" or "social work" it comes across as pathetic and pretentious.

it’s not a ‘little extra studying’!!! You are ignorant of the process to obtain a PhD. The average number of extra years to obtain a PhD is 6 and that’s after your bachelor’s. These people are experts in their chosen fields. They studied and studied and studied. They completed major comprehensive exams in their disciplines and passed. Then they embarked on some major new research project in their area of study and completed a dissertation. They had to present at major conferences and get their work approved in front of other leading academics in their field. They earned the title Doctor in their chosen field. Everyone should know that ‘Dr’ doesn’t just mean medical. If YOU don’t know this, then YOU need more education.

Yep, all of this. For what it’s worth I have a PhD (psychologist) and I only use the Dr term at work. Pretentious for a PhD OR an MD to use it outside of the work setting in my opinion!

PhD’s don’t just study an existing knowledge base. They GROW that knowledge base.

Advancing science is different than using science.

Some if you just don’t get this distinction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a physician. I think the term doctor should be used for anyone who earns the doctorate in the right context. I don’t know any physicians who use it socially. When I go to classes for other topics I don’t introduce myself as Dr. Larla.

I also don’t like when people try to address me by my first name in a medical setting. It almost always only happens to women doctors, and is incredibly disrespectful to the number of years of training in which we were working incredibly long hours, dealing with lots of death, sadness, illnesses, exams after exams. We earn the title doctor and we deserve to use it. I work with kids and I insist they use it (they can call me Dr Thomas, Dr Tommy, Dr T) just as I insist my staff to use the title in the office. And honestly as a woman, people will assume you’re a nurse if you don’t make it clear you are a doc.

I hear you, and I am sensitive to the gender concerns.
If you worked with adults, would you also call them Mr/Miss and/or Dr if they had those titles?
I have a doctorate in the social sciences. I have clients (non medical). Should I be insisting I call them John and they call me Dr. Fox?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you think of a chiropractor who switched to teaching middle school and refers to themselves as Dr. X?

They're a pretentious weirdo who probably has lots of opinions and is likely to be insufferable.

[Anonymous]

One of the first things fascists do is go after intellectuals because they ask questions. Mocking their expertise and education is essential to having power.

And some are just too dumb to understand that Dr is the correct title for more than just MDs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Im an MD, I only allow my patients to call me Dr.--it creates boundaries that are there to protect both of us and to define the relationship. I want to barf when all these school educators go by doctor.

Then despite being very educated you’re ignorant and a rube.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im an MD, I only allow my patients to call me Dr.--it creates boundaries that are there to protect both of us and to define the relationship. I want to barf when all these school educators go by doctor.

Then despite being very educated you’re ignorant and a rube.

why? because the only time im called dr is by a patient? otherwise i redirect to first name. When im at a doc appt myself ill call my MD doctor and ask they call me by my first name....it just seems logical to me...but hey ill call y'all whatever you please--doesnt really impact me one way or the other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im an MD, I only allow my patients to call me Dr.--it creates boundaries that are there to protect both of us and to define the relationship. I want to barf when all these school educators go by doctor.

Then despite being very educated you’re ignorant and a rube.

why? because the only time im called dr is by a patient? otherwise i redirect to first name. When im at a doc appt myself ill call my MD doctor and ask they call me by my first name....it just seems logical to me...but hey ill call y'all whatever you please--doesnt really impact me one way or the other.

oh and I call my podiatrist doctor, i wanted to call a phd therapist doctor but she asked to be called her first name so we went with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im an MD, I only allow my patients to call me Dr.--it creates boundaries that are there to protect both of us and to define the relationship. I want to barf when all these school educators go by doctor.

Then despite being very educated you’re ignorant and a rube.

why? because the only time im called dr is by a patient? otherwise i redirect to first name. When im at a doc appt myself ill call my MD doctor and ask they call me by my first name....it just seems logical to me...but hey ill call y'all whatever you please--doesnt really impact me one way or the other.

So you think it's appropriate for you to call someone their first name/without a title (even Ms or Mr), but they should give you respect by using yours? That seems more like you want to create a power dynamic than wanting to create boundaries.
- someone with a PhD who doesn't use "Dr."

[Anonymous]

I’m an MD and I call my PhD patients Dr during visits and when I release results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a physician. I think the term doctor should be used for anyone who earns the doctorate in the right context. I don’t know any physicians who use it socially. When I go to classes for other topics I don’t introduce myself as Dr. Larla.

I also don’t like when people try to address me by my first name in a medical setting. It almost always only happens to women doctors, and is incredibly disrespectful to the number of years of training in which we were working incredibly long hours, dealing with lots of death, sadness, illnesses, exams after exams. We earn the title doctor and we deserve to use it. I work with kids and I insist they use it (they can call me Dr Thomas, Dr Tommy, Dr T) just as I insist my staff to use the title in the office. And honestly as a woman, people will assume you’re a nurse if you don’t make it clear you are a doc.

I’m a female physician too. Lately more and more patients have been calling me by my first name and I’m always wondering why. I have literally never called a doctor (when I was their patient) by their first name in my life and find it rude. I thought maybe it was a generational thing, but older patients have been doing it too. I never sign communications with my first name, leave voicemails, etc, so it’s not like I gave the message that it was ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a physician. I think the term doctor should be used for anyone who earns the doctorate in the right context. I don’t know any physicians who use it socially. When I go to classes for other topics I don’t introduce myself as Dr. Larla.

I also don’t like when people try to address me by my first name in a medical setting. It almost always only happens to women doctors, and is incredibly disrespectful to the number of years of training in which we were working incredibly long hours, dealing with lots of death, sadness, illnesses, exams after exams. We earn the title doctor and we deserve to use it. I work with kids and I insist they use it (they can call me Dr Thomas, Dr Tommy, Dr T) just as I insist my staff to use the title in the office. And honestly as a woman, people will assume you’re a nurse if you don’t make it clear you are a doc.

I’m a female physician too. Lately more and more patients have been calling me by my first name and I’m always wondering why. I have literally never called a doctor (when I was their patient) by their first name in my life and find it rude. I thought maybe it was a generational thing, but older patients have been doing it too. I never sign communications with my first name, leave voicemails, etc, so it’s not like I gave the message that it was ok.

Do you call them by their first name, or do you address them as Mr X or Ms Y?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I don't understand why there's anything wrong with the psychiatrist being called Dr.

Psychiatrists ARE MD's!

They are. I get so tired of people mixing up psychiatrist and psychologist.

At any rate, I call my psychiatrist by their first name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about in a medical setting? Are you okay with a nurse practitioner with a doctorate in nursing saying- hi I’m doctor blank, how can I help you today? Or a pharmacist / physical therapist? All are doctors?

I think that in a professional hospital environment only MDs should use doctor to avoid confusion. Outside of the hospital, anyone who wants to go by doctor should be able to.

Some states have actually legislated this.

The med students I work with (I work at multiple local med schools) who are working in the hospital have been told repeatedly by attendings to introduce themselves as "the physician" because of "all the people walking around the hospital calling themselves Dr. these days." It's NP hate, but warranted as far as clarity for the public goes.