Please Call Me Dr.

Im just about finishing my first year of professional school and I have encountered a lot of professionals that have earned their doctorates in their profession or PhDs in their discipline. Most are very humble and introduce themselves by first name unless it's in a professional setting and they hold a significant title in the organization. So my question is, how do you guys feel when people introduce themselves as Dr. or preferred to be called that in social settings or when they dont hold a high position i.e. manager, director, etc..?

I think its sort of pretentious and I think the only people who should call themselves doctors are MDs and the like. I only call others who arent MDs doctors because thats what is to be expected and dont want to get canned. But I do it every time with a bit of reluctance in my head.

Anyway, not to say that anyone who has earned a PhD or doctorate in their professional, didnt work as hard or is as smart, I think just think its better to call doctors who are actual MDs.

Note = MD meaning DOs, surgeons, etc..

I honestly don't think about it other than the fact that anyone who has done the work to earn their doctorate has earned the right to be addressed by that title as it takes quite a bit of time. I do not find it pretentious at all but then again I also don't specifically put medical doctors on a pedestal either. But then again in my mind Md's are just technicians/mechanics working on a complicated system.

yeah i dont put MDs on a stand either, but i think society has in a way. So thats why everyone wants to be called doctor. I just think it confuses a lot of laypersons, including myself. before college, anyone that introduced themselves as Dr., I automatically assumed they were some sort of medical professional.

anyway, just a rant and the med students at my school are super easy going. some are a little big headed, but for the most part, they are pretty nice.

The only degree worth mentioning is PmD.











Seriously though, I think it is a bit pretentious... but more so if people get pissed off when you call them Mister instead of Doctor. But I also think that if I were to put in that amount of time, I'd want to be called it too because I earned it.

It really depends to me. If its a professional relationship then I call people by Dr. ie MD's, DDS.

I know too many people with doctorates and unless they are using that for the relationship as the professor, counselor, biologist, etc then its never used. We're very informal out here and most of the time you'll get told to not call someone mr, mrs, mam, sir, etc. I'm a young buck and nothing annoys me more than when I get a work phone call and someone calls me Mr. Smith. I abhor it.

i don't call anyone a doctor unless they help sick people
doctorate does not equal doctor to me, and i think its a bit pretentious.
that being said, i'll call anyone, anything if it prevents me from getting fired.
play by the rules and plot your escape.

if someone wishes to be addressed as dr instead of mrs/mr then i will happily call them that. if they put in the work to earn it, then they can claim it.

that being said, most people i know with one, never say it unless its in a formal/professional environment. the md's i know dont even ask to be addressed as dr hardly ever. the south is very casual and fast to get on first name basis.

reckedracing said:

i don't call anyone a doctor unless they help sick people
doctorate does not equal doctor to me, and i think its a bit pretentious.
that being said, i'll call anyone, anything if it prevents me from getting fired.
play by the rules and plot your escape.

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word. what if it was a communications major? or lawyers? or what if it was a nurse? they have doctorate degrees in nursing, so people can be Dr. nurses.

regardless, fortunately i havent encountered anyone that used it outside of business or out of context. i just have this rant because ive been addressing others in my profession and they cringe. i cringe to when im told by professors to start asking people to address me as such.

There's a guy here at work who doesn't have a doctorate in anything, but gave himself the title so he gets better hotel reservations and rental cars.

Professional ethics can't do anything because he's not impersonating anyone, nor has he lied on any official forms.

dick move.



why didn't I think of that?

My high school principle was pretty insistent that he be referred to as Dr. Shivers. It was a bit pretentious. It helped to differentiate between him and his brother, Mr. Shivers, the biology teacher. The Latin teacher also preferred doctor, but nobody was bothered by it because he had round specs, a handle bar moustache and a brief case and was cool/weird as shit.

Came second nature in college, assuming a prof had their doctorate. If they didn't they were probably a TA and asked to be referred to by their first name. Or the first few letters of their names because it was too hard to pronounce. I preferred to be taught by someone I could refer to as doctor.

92stoccord said:

My high school principle was pretty insistent that he be referred to as Dr. Shivers. It was a bit pretentious. It helped to differentiate between him and his brother, Mr. Shivers, the biology teacher. The Latin teacher also preferred doctor, but nobody was bothered by it because he had round specs, a handle bar moustache and a brief case and was cool/weird as shit.

Came second nature in college, assuming a prof had their doctorate. If they didn't they were probably a TA and asked to be referred to by their first name. Or the first few letters of their names because it was too hard to pronounce. I preferred to be taught by someone I could refer to as doctor.

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Having your Phd. in education is pretty prestigious in a high school/school district as not many educators reach that level. Calling a principal/admin Dr. is really common so long as they have the credential to go with it.

bout damn time

b16, LOL! i can totally see that now during one of interdisciplinary forums.

92stoccord said:

My high school principle was pretty insistent that he be referred to as Dr. Shivers. It was a bit pretentious. It helped to differentiate between him and his brother, Mr. Shivers, the biology teacher.

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I can see that if its differentiating him. My 5-6th grade principal had his doctorate in something dumb, maybe literature. He wouldn't even look if you said Mr. Sardone. You're dealing with 9 and 10 year olds, don't be a prick.

My physician actually tells me to call him by his first name. Cool guy.

One pretentious douche I dealt with at the car dealership was a dentist. He made it a point that he was a doctor. He refused the little class we do for new owners because, "I'm a doctor, I can figure it out". He called me on his way home because, "this piece of shit isn't working right". He became someone I dealt with on a weekly basis. He also got mad that his brand new development wasn't in the GPS. He also got mad the bluetooth automatically downloaded his contacts, "but what if I'm in the car with my wife, I don't want certain names popping up". I get it, you cheat on your wife, you're soooo cool. One time I called him "Sir", and he corrected me that he was a doctor. He would always say, "your car isn't working right". Finally I responded, "It's not my car, I just work here. If it was my car I wouldn't be answering the phones." He didn't like that, cursed at me, and I hung up. When he showed up to the dealership I was dying laughing when our GM wouldn't let him talk to me and explained the company policy on foul language.

Anyway... I also have a friend who is a vet. I haven't called her by her name in years. I just call her doctor.


Ultimately it comes down to the person. If you're a dick about it, I'll go out of my way to not call you doctor.

chestercheeto48 said:

Having your Phd. in education is pretty prestigious in a high school/school district as not many educators reach that level. Calling a principal/admin Dr. is really common so long as they have the credential to go with it.

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My principal in high school had his doctorate in education. If you didn't call him Dr (on purpose), he'd give you ISS.

International Space Station?

In school suspension

You basically sit in a room all day and do homework or any other busy work the teacher throws at you.

I have a doctorate in a field, law, and I shortened my first name to be more approachable. Even if I wanted to use "Dr.," while technically I qualify for the title, most state bar associations discourage or outright bar its use because of the confusion it can cause in medical malpractice situations (the client might believe their lawyer is a medical doctor, etc.).

I liken it to calling another fruit an orange, simply because it is orange. In medicine, the title of "doctor" has collapsed into the trade name of the profession. Much like the color of my favorite piece of citrus has collapsed into the proper name of the fruit. Thus, while lawyers and professors are doctors, they should be known my their trade name, "Mr./Ms.," or whatever title is given to their profession. I will be able to add "esquire" after my name in a few months, for instance, which I will probably only put on business cards and in guest books.