Doctor or not?

TheBigAppleI have a doctorate in geology (sedimentology/reservoir characterization), some call me a rock doctor, other's refer to me as professor, and others as "gus".

I don't consider myself a doctor despite the high caliber of education I went through.


Doctors Practice Medicine

El_Barto.so if you met Steven Hawking you would just call him Mr. Hawking or Steven instead of Dr. Hawking?

ILLinoisanceMy sister's boyfriend is a chiropractor. My sister constantly refers to him as a doctor and props him up to be a brain surgeon.

MilaKunisJust a quick statement if someone feints and you yell is anyone here a doctor, do you really mean someone with a phd?

stickskiThat scenario doesn't mean anything dude. Anyone with a Phd is a doctor.

zzzskizzzI think you're missing the point of the question. Yes obviously you call them a doctor but should you? Obviously to get a PhD its a lot of work, and very hard to obtain, but if you go around your entire life until everyone to call you Dr. With a PhD in history. And not tell them where you work everyone will assume your medical doctor. I think we should call people with PhD's something different, and then if your medical doctor you should be called Dr. That is the question being asked.

stickskiIdk man, I'm in college so I absolutely do call them doctor xyz or professor xyz. Dr. is their official title, if I were to introduce them, I would absolutely introduce them as doctor xyz. Phd's that I know personally I just call them by their name, that's just me though, really sort of a pointless argument.

El_Barto.I got into it with a coworker today about who doctors are. She says that the only real doctors are surgeons. She doesnt consider optometrists, dentists, pharmacists doctors even though they all recieve a doctorate. I explained that just because they arent MDs doesnt mean they arent doctors. You can have a doctorate in almost anything. Hell, I know a guy who has his doctorate in soil science.

So NS, who do you consider to be a doctor?

integralmgmtOptometrists, dentists, and pharmacists are doctorate level graduates but there is a difference between them and medical doctors. MDs have to be board certified to practice in the United States, while the others don't. That's a pretty big deal as it certifies that no matter what school, residency, etc they attended, the doctor is qualified according to their respective board.

As for surgeons specifically being the only medical doctors, that's ridiculous. Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, Radiology, and all others, are all valid specialities.

integralmgmtOptometrists, dentists, and pharmacists are doctorate level graduates but there is a difference between them and medical doctors. MDs have to be board certified to practice in the United States, while the others don't. That's a pretty big deal as it certifies that no matter what school, residency, etc they attended, the doctor is qualified according to their respective board.

As for surgeons specifically being the only medical doctors, that's ridiculous. Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, Radiology, and all others, are all valid specialities.

zzzskizzzI actually just learned last week that if your board certification expires you can still practice in USA, but remember kids you should always have a doctor that is board certified.

mmccarthy14Now that you changed your name, you have to change your sig.

integralmgmtOptometrists, dentists, and pharmacists are doctorate level graduates but there is a difference between them and medical doctors. MDs have to be board certified to practice in the United States, while the others don't. That's a pretty big deal as it certifies that no matter what school, residency, etc they attended, the doctor is qualified according to their respective board.

As for surgeons specifically being the only medical doctors, that's ridiculous. Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, Radiology, and all others, are all valid specialities.

stoggiemanI'm 99% sure dentists must be board certified by an exam called the NBDE, national board dental exam, and I know for certain that pharmacists do, considering my sister just sat for a two day national board certification exam so your argument is invalid and makes no sense. I hope you were trolling.

integralmgmtNo, it is not mandatory that dentists be board certified to practice in the United States. They do need to be certified in their state of practice, however. https://www.abgd.org/boardcertified.php Currently less that 1% of general dentists are certified by the National Board of General Dentists.

It also doesn't seem that pharmacists have to be board certified.

As for MDs, not all have to be board certified. But almost every MD practicing in a hospital is required by the hospital to have a board certification. All board certifications, whether for an MD, pharmacist, or dentist are optional, but MDs are the only ones who are required to hold certification if they want to practice in a hospital, their primary place of practice.

Mr.HuckCan't believe no one posted this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lge2_H_8IQ

integralmgmtand i'm not trying to question the validity of dentists or pharmacist, i'm just trying to explain the differences in board certification between the professions

zzzskizzzIf you can medically help someone in some way you are a doctor, I used to be on the fence about dentists but they are.

ShredsterrI can shove my fist up your ass and give you an enema, am I a doctor?