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How about instead if telling dozens of professions they can't call themselves doctors in a clinical setting, tell doctors to call themselves physicians instead. Much simpler.

 

I concur. Great solution. Let's mark this problem solved and move on to the next big life issue to be solved here on the forum.

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How about instead if telling dozens of professions they can't call themselves doctors in a clinical setting, tell doctors to call themselves physicians instead. Much simpler.

My PhD brother in law says.....I am a Doctor , they are physicians, they went to trade school while I attended the university.

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How about instead if telling dozens of professions they can't call themselves doctors in a clinical setting, tell doctors to call themselves physicians instead. Much simpler.

My PhD brother in law says.....I am a Doctor , they are physicians, they went to trade school while I attended the university.

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How about instead if telling dozens of professions they can't call themselves doctors in a clinical setting, tell doctors to call themselves physicians instead. Much simpler.

My PhD brother in law says.....I am a Doctor , they are physicians, they went to trade school while I attended the university.

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My PhD brother in law says.....I am a Doctor , they are physicians, they went to trade school while I attended the university.

 

Actually if you want to get technical the latin term for doctor means "teacher" so unless your brother is teaching students, then he's not a doctor either.

 

Lets take this out of the medical profession for a bit.

 

What if you are at a conference with a bunch of medieval literature PHDs discussing Chaucer or something and a guy comes up and introduces himself to the group as "Dr Jones" without any qualification and starts to talk about medieval literature, but his PHD is actually in biology. Misrepresentation or not?

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My PhD brother in law says.....I am a Doctor , they are physicians, they went to trade school while I attended the university.

 

Actually if you want to get technical the latin term for doctor means "teacher" so unless your brother is teaching students, then he's not a doctor either.

 

Lets take this out of the medical profession for a bit.

 

What if you are at a conference with a bunch of medieval literature PHDs discussing Chaucer or something and a guy comes up and introduces himself to the group as "Dr Jones" without any qualification and starts to talk about medieval literature, but his PHD is actually in biology. Misrepresentation or not?

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My PhD brother in law says.....I am a Doctor , they are physicians, they went to trade school while I attended the university.

 

Actually if you want to get technical the latin term for doctor means "teacher" so unless your brother is teaching students, then he's not a doctor either.

 

Lets take this out of the medical profession for a bit.

 

What if you are at a conference with a bunch of medieval literature PHDs discussing Chaucer or something and a guy comes up and introduces himself to the group as "Dr Jones" without any qualification and starts to talk about medieval literature, but his PHD is actually in biology. Misrepresentation or not?

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Actually if you want to get technical the latin term for doctor means "teacher" so unless your brother is teaching students, then he's not a doctor either.

 

Lets take this out of the medical profession for a bit.

 

What if you are at a conference with a bunch of medieval literature PHDs discussing Chaucer or something and a guy comes up and introduces himself to the group as "Dr Jones" without any qualification and starts to talk about medieval literature, but his PHD is actually in biology. Misrepresentation or not?

 

He is a tenured professor @ University of Maryland ....so I guess he meets your criteria!

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Actually if you want to get technical the latin term for doctor means "teacher" so unless your brother is teaching students, then he's not a doctor either.

 

Lets take this out of the medical profession for a bit.

 

What if you are at a conference with a bunch of medieval literature PHDs discussing Chaucer or something and a guy comes up and introduces himself to the group as "Dr Jones" without any qualification and starts to talk about medieval literature, but his PHD is actually in biology. Misrepresentation or not?

 

He is a tenured professor @ University of Maryland ....so I guess he meets your criteria!

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Actually if you want to get technical the latin term for doctor means "teacher" so unless your brother is teaching students, then he's not a doctor either.

 

Lets take this out of the medical profession for a bit.

 

What if you are at a conference with a bunch of medieval literature PHDs discussing Chaucer or something and a guy comes up and introduces himself to the group as "Dr Jones" without any qualification and starts to talk about medieval literature, but his PHD is actually in biology. Misrepresentation or not?

 

He is a tenured professor @ University of Maryland ....so I guess he meets your criteria!

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Actually if you want to get technical the latin term for doctor means "teacher" so unless your brother is teaching students, then he's not a doctor either.

 

Is it possible to get a PhD in a field and not have taught? Even getting a masters in most programs (ie non professional) require teaching.

 

 

What if you are at a conference with a bunch of medieval literature PHDs discussing Chaucer or something and a guy comes up and introduces himself to the group as "Dr Jones" without any qualification and starts to talk about medieval literature, but his PHD is actually in biology. Misrepresentation or not?

 

I guess the only answer is that it depends on intentions and the setting. As long as you aren't faking that your work is peer reviewed or falsifying data, who would care?

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Actually if you want to get technical the latin term for doctor means "teacher" so unless your brother is teaching students, then he's not a doctor either.

 

Is it possible to get a PhD in a field and not have taught? Even getting a masters in most programs (ie non professional) require teaching.

 

 

What if you are at a conference with a bunch of medieval literature PHDs discussing Chaucer or something and a guy comes up and introduces himself to the group as "Dr Jones" without any qualification and starts to talk about medieval literature, but his PHD is actually in biology. Misrepresentation or not?

 

I guess the only answer is that it depends on intentions and the setting. As long as you aren't faking that your work is peer reviewed or falsifying data, who would care?

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Actually if you want to get technical the latin term for doctor means "teacher" so unless your brother is teaching students, then he's not a doctor either.

 

Is it possible to get a PhD in a field and not have taught? Even getting a masters in most programs (ie non professional) require teaching.

 

 

What if you are at a conference with a bunch of medieval literature PHDs discussing Chaucer or something and a guy comes up and introduces himself to the group as "Dr Jones" without any qualification and starts to talk about medieval literature, but his PHD is actually in biology. Misrepresentation or not?

 

I guess the only answer is that it depends on intentions and the setting. As long as you aren't faking that your work is peer reviewed or falsifying data, who would care?

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Doctor is simply a title meaning someone has completed a doctoral degree. Typically, only MDs, PhDs and a few other degree-holders are entitled "Dr". It is not often that you hear someone with a PharmD or JD referred to as Dr. X, though I suppose it's technically correct. PhDs don't typically demand the formality to the extent that MDs do. In fact, I think this demand for formality impedes effective communication in many situations. Why is it so important to use one's title at all times?

 

Unfortunately or not, in the clinical setting, patients are of the understanding that those with the Dr. title are physicians. This is encouraged by the fact that "doctor" is sometimes used interchangeably with "physician", a poor practice, if you ask me. So, discourage the use of "doctor" as a noun rather than a title, but don't introduce yourself as "Dr. X" if you happen to hold a non-MD doctorate. Feel free to put it on your nametag along with PA-C, but don't confuse the patients. In the medical setting, your foremost qualification is as a PA.

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Doctor is simply a title meaning someone has completed a doctoral degree. Typically, only MDs, PhDs and a few other degree-holders are entitled "Dr". It is not often that you hear someone with a PharmD or JD referred to as Dr. X, though I suppose it's technically correct. PhDs don't typically demand the formality to the extent that MDs do. In fact, I think this demand for formality impedes effective communication in many situations. Why is it so important to use one's title at all times?

 

Unfortunately or not, in the clinical setting, patients are of the understanding that those with the Dr. title are physicians. This is encouraged by the fact that "doctor" is sometimes used interchangeably with "physician", a poor practice, if you ask me. So, discourage the use of "doctor" as a noun rather than a title, but don't introduce yourself as "Dr. X" if you happen to hold a non-MD doctorate. Feel free to put it on your nametag along with PA-C, but don't confuse the patients. In the medical setting, your foremost qualification is as a PA.

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Doctor is simply a title meaning someone has completed a doctoral degree. Typically, only MDs, PhDs and a few other degree-holders are entitled "Dr". It is not often that you hear someone with a PharmD or JD referred to as Dr. X, though I suppose it's technically correct. PhDs don't typically demand the formality to the extent that MDs do. In fact, I think this demand for formality impedes effective communication in many situations. Why is it so important to use one's title at all times?

 

Unfortunately or not, in the clinical setting, patients are of the understanding that those with the Dr. title are physicians. This is encouraged by the fact that "doctor" is sometimes used interchangeably with "physician", a poor practice, if you ask me. So, discourage the use of "doctor" as a noun rather than a title, but don't introduce yourself as "Dr. X" if you happen to hold a non-MD doctorate. Feel free to put it on your nametag along with PA-C, but don't confuse the patients. In the medical setting, your foremost qualification is as a PA.

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Feel free to put it on your nametag along with PA-C, but don't confuse the patients. In the medical setting, your foremost qualification is as a PA.

 

And by "it", I meant whatever your other degree is.

 

The more I think about it, the more I think it's odd and pretentious for anyone to refer themselves as Dr. X. It makes you like Rickey Henderson, referring to yourself in the third person. Does anyone refer to themselves as Mr. Smith? No. All providers should introduce themselves with their first and last name, and their role. It helps eliminate confusion vs. just Dr. X. Titles are something that others may use in referring to you.

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Feel free to put it on your nametag along with PA-C, but don't confuse the patients. In the medical setting, your foremost qualification is as a PA.

 

And by "it", I meant whatever your other degree is.

 

The more I think about it, the more I think it's odd and pretentious for anyone to refer themselves as Dr. X. It makes you like Rickey Henderson, referring to yourself in the third person. Does anyone refer to themselves as Mr. Smith? No. All providers should introduce themselves with their first and last name, and their role. It helps eliminate confusion vs. just Dr. X. Titles are something that others may use in referring to you.

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Feel free to put it on your nametag along with PA-C, but don't confuse the patients. In the medical setting, your foremost qualification is as a PA.

 

And by "it", I meant whatever your other degree is.

 

The more I think about it, the more I think it's odd and pretentious for anyone to refer themselves as Dr. X. It makes you like Rickey Henderson, referring to yourself in the third person. Does anyone refer to themselves as Mr. Smith? No. All providers should introduce themselves with their first and last name, and their role. It helps eliminate confusion vs. just Dr. X. Titles are something that others may use in referring to you.

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Then if I were to say, "If you want a MD for sh*ts and giggles, then fine, but please don't make others call you doctor," what's the difference? Either one gives someone the rightful title of Doctor, please don't belittle someones accomplishment just because you have issues. If someone is confused then that's their fault, ignorance is no defense in the eyes of the law.

 

So, yikes, this is why I sigh. I am NOT belittling anyone who gets their PhD. If a patient is confused, it may be their fault, (so much for compassion in the medical field), but I don't think we need to add to the confusion and possible misinterpretation. Get a PhD, call yourself doctor. But if you do that, please clarify and say, "I have a doctorate in PHILOSOPHY of a certain field, and not a medical school degree". I don't have issues (and it's interesting that you would assume that) with someone who earns their PhD and likes to be called Doctor. I am talking about the clinical setting where the title is confusing for patients who equate "doctor" with someone who went to MEDICAL school.

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Doctor is simply a title meaning someone has completed a doctoral degree. Typically, only MDs, PhDs and a few other degree-holders are entitled "Dr". It is not often that you hear someone with a PharmD or JD referred to as Dr. X, though I suppose it's technically correct. PhDs don't typically demand the formality to the extent that MDs do. In fact, I think this demand for formality impedes effective communication in many situations. Why is it so important to use one's title at all times?

 

Unfortunately or not, in the clinical setting, patients are of the understanding that those with the Dr. title are physicians. This is encouraged by the fact that "doctor" is sometimes used interchangeably with "physician", a poor practice, if you ask me. So, discourage the use of "doctor" as a noun rather than a title, but don't introduce yourself as "Dr. X" if you happen to hold a non-MD doctorate. Feel free to put it on your nametag along with PA-C, but don't confuse the patients. In the medical setting, your foremost qualification is as a PA.

 

Thank you. I couldn't have said it better.

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Good Morning,

 

I've wanted to add a related (perhaps tangentially) thread, but this seemed a good place to post this comment:

 

I recently borrowed my spouse's Jeep, which has satelite radio. I tuned into a station (Sirius XM 81) called "Doctor Radio." The show to which I had tuned, however, was "The Nurse Practitioner Show." It was actually quite excellent in terms of content, but I was again reminded of the increasing visibility of NPs, contrasted against the public's misperception (or complete lack of awareness) of PAs. Dozens of times during the show, the moderator says, "You are tuned to Doctor Radio; this is Doctor Radio; thank you for listening to Doctor Radio," etc. The NP and all of her guests, to be fair, did not use the title "Doctor," but the blurring of the lines was and is clear.

 

Has anyone heard a PA on this station, perhaps as a guest on some specialty show? Wouldn't it help our visibility as a profession if this could be accomplished? I am a mid-life career changer (with a previously earned, clinically relevant doctorate, by the way, and I never use the title "Doctor" in my PA work). I am increasingly concerned about the future of my new profession, and increasingly frustrated by our leadership's apparent lack of concern for our viability as a field. In fact, I resigned my AAPA membership last month and wrote a similarly themed letter. For PAs in my age group, retraining as a NP (see another current thread for this discussion) is not an option.

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