Do I really want to be addressed with the title of doctor?
Can PhDs legitimately claim to be doctors?
I’ve frequently heard people claim that individuals who hold PhDs are not “real” doctors. These people assert that only physicians can rightfully claim this title, and that it’s inappropriate for PhD-holders to use this term.
For some reason, many also think that the MD is much more difficult to attain than a PhD for example in computer science.
So - should Ph.D.s Be Referred To As ‘Doctor?
Ps: currently I am a PhD student and don't know why the question is being devoted!
PhD
edited Mar 27 '17 at 17:47
asked Mar 27 '17 at 14:59
This is possibly country dependent, but for Germany this is utterly wrong: "many also think that the MD is much more difficult to attain than a PhD" - Medical doctors get the equivalent of a "paper doctorate" thrown after them so they can be called "doctor" as part of their degree, while "real doctors" have to start a doctorate and carry out rigorous research to obtain the degree/academic title. Now other countries may handle this very differently and there this statement may or may not be true. – DetlevCM Aug 23 at 6:45
In the modern USA the title of doctor is valid for both medical doctors and holders of PhDs in the US, but particular customs may vary by institution. The general rule of thumb for etiquette is to refer to someone however they wish to be referred to. If you have a PhD that insists they be referred to as doctor it would be very impolite to not do so. Likewise if you have an MD who insists that you do not use their title it would be similarly impolite.
In situations where it is important to avoid confusion it is common to spell it out explicitly. Rather than using the honorific use the explicit degree, for example it is very common for email signatures to look like:
John Doe, Ph.D. in Computer Science
instead of
Dr. John Doe
Similarly, an MD would tend to say:
Jane Doe, MD, Cardiologist
or even
Jane Doe, MD, Ph.D., Cardiology
I suspect that your question has another component, which is essentially whether or not it is "fair" for a Ph.D. holder to refer to themselves as doctor. This requires an assumption that the MD is more challenging to attain than a Ph.D., and that calling oneself a doctor is somehow illegitimately taking the status of a medical doctor. Let me just say that the people who have earned these degrees are generally less concerned about this than those who have not, and that the title someone puts after their name doesn't tell you very much about their individual ability, dedication, or experience.
Can PhDs legitimately claim to be doctors?
I’ve frequently heard people claim that individuals who hold PhDs are not “real” doctors. These people assert that only physicians can rightfully claim this title, and that it’s inappropriate for PhD-holders to use this term.
For some reason, many also think that the MD is much more difficult to attain than a PhD for example in computer science.
So - should Ph.D.s Be Referred To As ‘Doctor?
Ps: currently I am a PhD student and don't know why the question is being devoted!
PhD
edited Mar 27 '17 at 17:47
asked Mar 27 '17 at 14:59
This is possibly country dependent, but for Germany this is utterly wrong: "many also think that the MD is much more difficult to attain than a PhD" - Medical doctors get the equivalent of a "paper doctorate" thrown after them so they can be called "doctor" as part of their degree, while "real doctors" have to start a doctorate and carry out rigorous research to obtain the degree/academic title. Now other countries may handle this very differently and there this statement may or may not be true. – DetlevCM Aug 23 at 6:45
In the modern USA the title of doctor is valid for both medical doctors and holders of PhDs in the US, but particular customs may vary by institution. The general rule of thumb for etiquette is to refer to someone however they wish to be referred to. If you have a PhD that insists they be referred to as doctor it would be very impolite to not do so. Likewise if you have an MD who insists that you do not use their title it would be similarly impolite.
In situations where it is important to avoid confusion it is common to spell it out explicitly. Rather than using the honorific use the explicit degree, for example it is very common for email signatures to look like:
John Doe, Ph.D. in Computer Science
instead of
Dr. John Doe
Similarly, an MD would tend to say:
Jane Doe, MD, Cardiologist
or even
Jane Doe, MD, Ph.D., Cardiology
I suspect that your question has another component, which is essentially whether or not it is "fair" for a Ph.D. holder to refer to themselves as doctor. This requires an assumption that the MD is more challenging to attain than a Ph.D., and that calling oneself a doctor is somehow illegitimately taking the status of a medical doctor. Let me just say that the people who have earned these degrees are generally less concerned about this than those who have not, and that the title someone puts after their name doesn't tell you very much about their individual ability, dedication, or experience.
Krebto
The answer is "Yes". – Michael Mar 27 '17 at 15:07
Yes they can legitimately claim that, just not that they are medical doctors (or doctors in any other field they are no doctor in). – skymningen Mar 27 '17 at 15:07
The people I know who say this (of themselves) are usually being somewhat sarcastic and say this as a form of irony. – Dave L Renfro Mar 27 '17 at 16:30
Probable duplicate of, or at least answered by this: academia.stackexchange.com/questions/30790/… – Bob Brown Mar 27 '17 at 17:58
You can't immediately tell from the title, but then titles are not typically used by an individual to broadcast their occupation - we don't have variants of "Mr" for plumbers, bank managers, or rock stars - despite their very different occupations. Rather, the title is to be used by others when addressing that individual, in order to signify a degree of respect, typically for a particular level of training, qualification and responsibility, or else for a particularly respected position in society. Even the term "mister" is a meaningful sign of respect that historically would not have been as widely applied as it is today - the ratchet of etiquette has gradually eliminated everything below it.
The actual title "Doctor" means "teacher" (from Latin "doceo", "I teach"). This title is more often more relevant to PhDs than MDs, so you probably have your suggested solution backwards. That said, the solution is really neither necessary nor appropriate. Much like "Master" (from Latin "magister", in this case "teacher"), "Doctor" signifies that an individual has not only gained enough competency to practice in a particular field, but has developed enough expertise to instruct others. An individual who is sufficiently qualified to practice but not teach would historically have been known as a "journeyman", roughly equivalent to "professional".
In short "doctor" refers not to a field of expertise, but rather to a level of expertise.
Incidentally, most UK surgeons drop their title of "Dr" and revert to "Mr" after joining the Royal College of Surgeons. I've heard through a friend of at least one surgeon who reacted quite angrily at being addressed as a mere "Dr", which in such circles, due to a collision between traditional titles and modern medical training, could be unkindly translated as "trainee".
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