# No, you are not a doctor! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 11, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423 "2008-10-11T03:27:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/41 "2008-10-11T14:06:41Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > Not to mention that people from other countries also travel and they may have other conventions as to the honorific they use. I know in Mexico they use “Engineer” (Ingeniero) and PhD (licenciado) as honorifics. I felt weird being addressed as “engineer so-and-so”. Mexico really values train drivers, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/42 "2008-10-11T15:07:53Z")
> [@leander](#): > > This is too funny. Your knee-jerk reaction was wrong, and then you follow it up with your usual Google-fu, which is also wrong. I see you have a new hobby. Good for you! ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/43 "2008-10-11T15:13:32Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Let’s correct this. That Ph.D. is damn well a doctor. What he is not is a physician. Exactly. And that’s what the travel agent’s manifest should say: “physician”, not “doctor”. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/44 "2008-10-11T15:19:53Z")
> [@incidental](#): > > Okay, so I’m just going to vote on the side that regardless of how hard your worked for your PhD, demanding that your **travel agent** call you ‘doctor’ sounds like an asshole thing to do. What? Why? PhDs commonly style themselves Dr in all of their dealings; credit cards, mailing addresses, the lot (and with every justification). Why on earth would someone think, “wait, hang on - this is a _travel agent_. I’d best be careful”? Why is it “demanding” to give someone the title you use by default? If you _know_ someone is asking whether you’re a medical doctor or not, and still reply, “yes, I am a doctor,” then _that_ would be an asshole thing to do. But who the fuck would anticipate that travel agents would be so stupid as to automatically infer a specific profession from a non-specific honorific? If they want to know your profession, why the fuck don’t they just ask? I quite honestly can not believe a single person thinks this OP is anything other than moronic. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/45 "2008-10-11T15:27:34Z")
> [@mcott](#): > > o Q.E.D., you haven’t been on an airplane recently, have you? There is no provision for MD. You have a choice between MR, MS, MRS, ADM, CAPTN, or others among the military ranks. There is no MD. So, if I entered my ticket information thusly: **Last:** SMITH, MD **First:** JOHN **MI:** Q That wouldn’t appear that way on the manifest? ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/46 "2008-10-11T15:40:45Z")
Yep, those podiatrists and psychiatrists and gynecologists and ophthalmologists and orthopedists are really helpful when someone has a heart attack or stroke or asthma attack. They’ll just pull out their bag of drugs they always carry with them, and use their expertise about eye diseases to save a passenger’s life! No, they - and probably any other doctor - are going to say, “Well, we should probably land as soon as we can, so that this patient can be taken to a hospital with useful doctors and diagnostic equipment and such.” Though I also suppose that if you don’t want to be bitched at about how to identify yourself, you could just do what any sane person does and book your own damn flight. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/47 "2008-10-11T16:01:33Z")
I actually avoid using the title “Dr.” outside of academia because someone told me once that it can make one a more tempting target for identity theft. I have no idea whether there’s much to back that up, but it seemed plausible. However, I absolutely have earned the right to the title “Doctor.” Only an ignoramus thinks that only MDs deserve that title. Having said that, of course I think insisting that people address me by “Doctor” outside of academia is very, very silly. Popular usage is what it is, and I see no benefit to fighting it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/48 "2008-10-11T16:04:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Not to mention perhaps causing said Ph.D. to seriously piss him/herself when anxious flight attendants come running for medical help. > > I know that if an attendant leaned over my seat and said intently, “Please come quickly, Dr. Kimstu, a passenger in row 12 has stopped breathing”, the last thing I’d be feeling would be a nice warm glow that they called me “Doctor”. “I have a doctorate in history so believe me when I say this guy is history.” ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/49 "2008-10-11T16:26:01Z")
> [@](#): > > "The problem in getting help on an aircraft, " says Gaillard, “especially in the States, is that doctors and paramedics are sometimes reluctant to come forward in an emergency because they risk being sued for malpractice or the illegal exercise of medicine.” It is precisely these emergencies why the manifest should include the title ESQ ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/50 "2008-10-11T16:35:42Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > Yep, those podiatrists and psychiatrists and gynecologists and ophthalmologists and orthopedists are really helpful when someone has a heart attack or stroke or asthma attack. They’ll just pull out their bag of drugs they always carry with them, and use their expertise about eye diseases to save a passenger’s life! > > No, they - and probably any other doctor - are going to say, “Well, we should probably land as soon as we can, so that this patient can be taken to a hospital with useful doctors and diagnostic equipment and such.” Most MDs had to suffer through internship, and there are a few useful things that can be done on a plane. Even the least clinical MD is going to have some intelligent clinical questions to ask when a person has, say, chest pain, and will dredge up the mnemonic for treatment (MONA, Morphine, Oxygen, Nitroglycerin, Aspirin). Obviously the plane is gonna have oxygen, but a whip round for some baby aspirin and stuff could make a significant difference in the long term. I don’t think having a MD on the plane is useless, by a long shot. However, an EMT is probably more useful\*, and you’re certainly right that having an actual hospital handy is pretty good \*(unless you’re on a plane with Jack from Lost, in which case, see you a couple seasons). ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/51 "2008-10-11T16:37:34Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > Why would a flight suddenly be in need of an admiral? Well, there’s that unanticipated “water landing” the cabin attendant warns you about before the plane takes off. "O.K., all you people who remembered to use your seat cushions as flotation devices…you are now naval vessels under my command. Land is only 600 miles away. Wait for my signal. 4…3…2…1…DOG PADDLE!!! ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/52 "2008-10-11T17:51:12Z")
I’d rather avoid the use of any honorific. I think they’re stupid. However, some services, especially when the data is gathered by or plugged into a computerized system, don’t give the option of declining an honorific. This includes some airlines. Given _Miss, Mrs., Ms._ and _Dr.,_ _Dr._ is the correct choice. I fly quite frequently. I have heard may announcements asking for medical personnel. I have flown with many medical doctors and never seen one approached quietly by airline staff in a medical emergency–in an emergency, there isn’t time for that sort of nicety. When there appears to be an emergency with a psychological component, I do the same thing that medical personnel do when they see a medical situation for which they might be helpful–I alert someone on the staff that I have training in an area related to the situation and make myself available. My English Literature friends, listed as doctors, do not, and no one asks them to. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/53 "2008-10-11T19:11:52Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > It’s nothing until you have to address them as, “Herr-Doktor”… “Dammit, you are \*not \*a doctor. You’re a _ **BARBER** _!” ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/54 "2008-10-11T19:22:38Z")
> [@susan](#): > > I fly quite frequently. I have heard may announcements asking for medical personnel. I have flown with many medical doctors and never seen one approached quietly by airline staff in a medical emergency–in an emergency, there isn’t time for that sort of nicety. When there appears to be an emergency with a psychological component, I do the same thing that medical personnel do when they see a medical situation for which they might be helpful–I alert someone on the staff that I have training in an area related to the situation and make myself available. My English Literature friends, listed as doctors, do not, and no one asks them to. So, ironically, it’s the travel agent with the inflated sense of self-importance. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/55 "2008-10-11T19:26:21Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > “No, Mohammed, you are not like Hamlet because the Americans bombed your village and killed your father. Hamlet was a deeply conflicted man with cockeyed schemes who ended up killing pointless… OK, you might have a point.”“Cuba is a hellhole and one plane isn’t going to fix things. It would have a much better effect on the world economy going to its destination, thereby bolstering confidence in global travel and reducing barriers to trade. Besides, the marginal utility to Castro of an economist who can’t speak Spanish is near-zero, honest.”“Gee, you look pale beneath your turban. Ever consider eating more beef?” Hahahahaha, post of the year, quite frankly. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/56 "2008-10-11T20:09:19Z")
> [@Dead\_Badger](#): > > Why is it the path of least resistance to expect everyone in the world to know that morons will make unsupportable assumptions based on the title that they use every day? Why is it so incredibly difficult for the industry with a need to know which passengers are medical doctors, and which creates forms specifically to gather information about passengers, to add the question: “are you a medical doctor?” Are forms chiseled in stone? > > It didn’t seem too much effort to ban hair gel from altitude, nor was it an immoderate imposition to divest every single passenger of their belt before boarding; how much more effort could it _possibly_ take to check whether someone is, in fact, a medical doctor? A single check box makes the entire problem goes away! And yet somehow it’s everyone _else’s_ fault. Bizarre, and yet totally typical of the airline experience. You know what’s even easier? Just people not being assholes. **Travel Agent:** Let me just put your information in Mr Traveler \*\*Traveler: \*\* That’s, DR Traveler. **Travel Agent:** Oh, I’m sorry Dr Traveler. The airlines want us to only use Dr for medical doctors since there may be a need to identify them as such on the flight. It’s frustrating, but I’ll have to put Mr instead of Dr, I apologize. Now there are two responses to this situation. One is “Oh, that’s annoying but I understand. Go ahead and put Mr because I’m not an asshole!” There’s also… “NO! I am to be addressed as DR! I EARNED this title and I will be referred to as such! THIS is an outrage!” One of these responses is the response of someone who isn’t a jackass. You pick which is which. Why get yourself worked into a lather about something like this? The OP was blowing off steam about an apparent asshole they encountered on the job. Often people respond to these job related bitcheries as if the OP is condemning all customers everywhere. Some things are worth getting upset about while some things are not. Yes, I know that everyone has the right to get upset about anything they want to. My question is, why get upset about things that really aren’t going to matter much an hour from now? In a perfect world a PhD is Dr on the flight log if he or she wants to be. Is it really that big of a deal if they aren’t? Of course, the good news is that these people who get in a pinch over every single thing that goes wrong usually end up stressing themselves into an early grave so the rest of us don’t have to deal with them any longer than we have to. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/57 "2008-10-11T20:13:54Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > **Travel Agent:** Oh, I’m sorry Dr Traveler. The airlines want us to only use Dr for medical doctors since there may be a need to identify them as such on the flight. It’s frustrating, but I’ll have to put Mr instead of Dr, I apologize. Except that the airlines don’t give a shit. As pointed out by others, including at least one medical doctor, in an on-board medical emergency they don’t rely on the manifest to locate suitable assistance. ---
**Author:** ![incidental](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/22d042/32.png) [@incidental](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/incidental)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/58 "2008-10-11T20:15:51Z")
> [@Dead\_Badger](#): > > What? Why? PhDs commonly style themselves Dr in all of their dealings; credit cards, mailing addresses, the lot (and with every justification). Why on earth would someone think, “wait, hang on - this is a _travel agent_. I’d best be careful”? Why is it “demanding” to give someone the title you use by default? > > If you _know_ someone is asking whether you’re a medical doctor or not, and still reply, “yes, I am a doctor,” then _that_ would be an asshole thing to do. But who the fuck would anticipate that travel agents would be so stupid as to automatically infer a specific profession from a non-specific honorific? If they want to know your profession, why the fuck don’t they just ask? > > I quite honestly can not believe a single person thinks this OP is anything other than moronic. I guess I am assuming that the travel agent doesn’t have some secret vendetta against PhDs and it was in fact, an innocent mistake. Maybe I’m off base, but I would guess that many travel agents don’t particularly care what their clients do, as long as they can pay for their services. Therefore, in this situation, where it’s a 1:1 conversation between two people, in which one is already in a service position, it strikes me as rather rude to demand that the service person call them by a title that has nothing to do with the business transaction at hand. Why does it matter that the travel agent call this guy a ‘doctor’? It doesn’t change anything. I’m not saying that PhDs should live under a shroud of silence, only revealing themselves when somewhere, someone needs to know about 18th century France or the evolution of organometallic chemistry. In professional settings and in their daily life, they’ve earned the title. But this was a one-time transaction with an stranger that they probably won’t be interacting with on a daily basis. Why demand the title in that situation? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/59 "2008-10-11T20:19:27Z")
> [@incidental](#): > > Therefore, in this situation, where it’s a 1:1 conversation between two people, in which one is already in a service position, it strikes me as rather rude to demand that the service person call them by a title that has nothing to do with the business transaction at hand. What evidence is there that this happened? I don’t see anyone here claiming anyone demanded anything. Do you? ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423/60 "2008-10-11T20:20:27Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Except that the airlines don’t give a shit. As pointed out by others, including at least one medical doctor, in an on-board medical emergency they don’t rely on the manifest to locate suitable assistance. In an emergency, they don’t. Perhaps if the situation is NOT an emergency they might. Either way, it is the AIRLINE’s form they are filling out. I’m sure there is some information they’ve been presented to tell them to only put DR for medical doctors. Still, why on EARTH should anyone be so upset about it? Really and truly? Is the world shitting on someone’s life if they can’t be Dr on the manifest? Really? It’s honestly worth getting upset about? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-are-not-a-doctor/467423.md?page=4)