# Use of the title "Doctor" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 22, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341 "2020-04-22T13:29:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/81 "2020-04-24T15:37:19Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I would also like to point out that Doctor Octopus is a PhD, though Doctor Strange is a M.D. PhD. so who knows which one he’s using (Doctor Doctor Strange?). Doctor Who, OTOH, is self-selected, which makes him even more insufferable ;). That reminds me of the possibly apocryphal story that in Germany, a man with the family name “Schmidt,” who is a professor and holds two different doctoral degrees, would indeed be formally addressed as “Herr Professor Doktor Doktor Schmidt.” ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/82 "2020-04-24T16:37:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If you’re a doctor of drama (is there even such a thing?), you get to do that. In the U.S. if you’re a Doctor of Fine Arts, it’s an honorary degree. If you’re a Doctor of Arts, you earned it for research and teaching, not performing. In the U.K. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/83 "2020-04-24T16:44:02Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > That reminds me of the possibly apocryphal story that in Germany, a man with the family name “Schmidt,” who is a professor and holds two different doctoral degrees, would indeed be formally addressed as “Herr Professor Doktor Doktor Schmidt.” Not apocryphal in the least, and two doctorates is nothing: plenty of “Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr.” around, though at some point you might want to stack some of those into a “doctor multiplex”. ETA what may or may not be apocryphal are the stories about the old school (pre-war, maybe pre-both wars?) in Germany, in which let’s say an undergraduate formally wouldn’t get to address a Professor Ordinarius at all. If he or she had questions, that’s what the assistants were for. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/84 "2020-04-24T16:56:59Z")
I was visiting a hospital and a patient called a Dr. by her first name. She said “Please call me Dr. X” in the hospital. A Dr. I know worked with a Dr. Superdoc (real last name). He said they should pronounce it as Sooperdoc. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/85 "2020-04-24T17:05:01Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > I was visiting a hospital and a patient called a Dr. by her first name. She said “Please call me Dr. X” in the hospital. I presume the doctor and patient were not friends or colleagues, but strangers? I can see that. This is not the cocktail party setting of the OP (in which no MD or PhD I ever met introduced themselves other than by their first name) > [@](#): > > A Dr. I know worked with a Dr. Superdoc (real last name). He said they should pronounce it as Sooperdoc. If my name were, e.g., Dr Death or Dr Strange, I might nudge people onto the correct pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/86 "2020-04-24T17:45:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Yeah, a chemistry PhD insisting on being referred to as “Dr.” on the cast listing of a community theater (or theatre) is definitely pretentious. If you’re a doctor of drama (is there even such a thing?), you get to do that. Maybe if the guy in charge of lighting is a PhD electrical engineer, or something. But not an acting chemist (a phrase which I realize after typing could be interpreted in two different ways, but the other interpretation might be useful in taking the guy down a notch). Part of it is, he’s got quite a bit of money, and gives pretty generously to the theater, so they like to keep him happy. And he seems to be a good chemist. He puts together a lot of the special effects for various shows. The most recent show we did was _Jekyll and Hyde_. He provided all of the equipment to make Jekyll’s lab look suitably cool and steampunky, and also came up with a “formula” that vividly changed color when mixed together. And was also safe for the actor playing Jekyll to drink, which he said was the really challenging part. Apologies for the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/87 "2020-04-24T18:44:23Z")
I was once called for jury duty and got as far as the questioning session. Both the prosecutor and the defending attorney were asking potential jurors their marital status. If a woman was married, they asked if she preferred to be called Mrs. or Ms. One older woman looked over her glasses and, in a cool voice said “It’s Dr.” I could see the judge trying not to laugh. I still wonder what kind of Dr. she was. Oh, and this is irrelevant, but if a potential juror said they were married, they would be asked for how long. One guy’s response was “This time or cumulative?” ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/88 "2020-04-24T19:07:37Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Do any recipients of honorary degrees (from prestigious institutions) refer to themselves (or have others refer to them) as “Doctor”? There’s [this Russian Linguistics major who seems to think Honorary Degrees should qualify him to present to the American Physical Society](https://www.aps.org/units/gsccm/meetings/annual/hyneman-bio.cfm), using his honorary titles. Strangely enough, they seem to agree. It kind of brings up the difference between Schooling and Education. Schooling is what is done to you. Learning to sit still, stand in a line, raise your hand, all the things imposed on you. Education is what you take from a situation. Understanding, comprehension, critical thinking. Newton and the apple, Archimedes and displacement, Einstein and his deep thoughts in the patent clerks office. You can get an education in both school settings AND in real world settings. But you can only get a degree if you’re willing to put up with schooling. Honorary degrees, like the one awarded to Augusto Odone, simply confer the academic achievement on people who got their education in a different way. The fact that some institutions bestow these on candidates of dubious worth is a different issue. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/89 "2020-04-24T19:24:31Z")
Honorary degrees turn into “Dr. h. c.” on the CV, so, sure, there is a “Doctor” in there. (Also, just having one is no indication the person in question is _not_ also Ph.D., Sc.D., etc.) When someone asks if you prefer Mrs. or Ms., I wish someone would answer “effendi”. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/90 "2020-04-24T20:59:13Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > I have known other PhDs who have also insisted on the use of their title in social situations. In my experience it’s not that uncommon. To me personally, while in a professional setting it’s perfectly fine to insist on being addressed by title, in a social setting it comes off as egotistical and conceited. This. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/91 "2020-04-24T21:26:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **MrAtoz** : > > …and also came up with a “formula” that vividly changed color when mixed together. And was also safe for the actor playing Jekyll to drink, which he said was the really challenging part. Heck, even I can do that. Any indicator (cabbage juice works), combined with any acid (plenty of those that are safe to drink). ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/92 "2020-04-24T23:23:08Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Right back at you. If you have a name, and most people do, then drop the pretense and use it. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Render](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Grim\_Render](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Render)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/93 "2020-04-24T23:42:15Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I would also like to point out that Doctor Octopus is a PhD, though Doctor Strange is a M.D. PhD. so who knows which one he’s using (Doctor Doctor Strange?). Doctor Who, OTOH, is self-selected, which makes him even more insufferable ;). And Doctor Doom got kicked out of college without a degree for dangerous and forbidden experiments. He is not in fact entitled to call himself a doctor, and Dr. Octopus has been known to refer to him as “That dropout”. Although never in Dooms hearing range. Its been my impression that the usage of the word “doctor” as a specific term for MDs originated in the US, where it was for many years the only doctorate colleges could bestow. And that the colloquial use as spread from the US. Although technically, an MD still needs a phD to be allowed to call themselves doctor in many nations, in practice its a part of general parlance now. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/94 "2020-04-25T00:07:56Z")
A physicist colleague (who was married to an MD) described the difference as: “In med school, they run you through with a sword. In a Ph.D program, it’s a knife, but you have to stick it in yourself”. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/95 "2020-04-25T01:21:51Z")
Ask Doctor Science! He knows more than you do! [http://drscience.com/wordpress/](http://drscience.com/wordpress/) Disclaimer: “Doctor Science is not a real doctor.” Doctor Science: “I have a master’s degree. In _science_!” ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/96 "2020-04-25T02:30:09Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I consider it boorish too and never call myself that… I am sure I have mentioned on the boards a woman I once met who was introduced at a colloquium she gave as “Professor Doktor Frau Professor Doktor Doktor P\_\_\_\_.” I’d totally forgotten this until just now, but we had a retired Multiple Ph.D as our paperboy. He was in his 70s, and had been ordered by his cardiologist (only one Doctorate) to get out and walk briskly every morning. Well, the only way he could motivate himself was to pick up a part-time job where he HAD to walk briskly or people would complain. I still remember seeing him walk down the street, tossing the morning paper onto the front stoops. When he saw us, he’d chuckle and pretend to forget our house… and we’d run out on the lawn and try to catch him, yelling “Doctor Doctor, gimme the news!” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/97 "2020-04-25T02:47:16Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > I had a friend who got his PhD from a prestigious US university. He insisted on bring introduced (in social as well as professional settings) as “Doctor John Doe”. In my mind - at least in a social setting - the title “Doctor” should only be used by physicians, dentists, and veterinarians… > > How do others deal with this? I never thought a moment about addressing our church minister as “Dr. John Doe” (his letterhead would read something like “The Rev. John Doe, D.D., Ph.D.”), but I would never address a PhD in a social gathering as “Doctor”. I concur, except that right after getting their PhD, it is expected you will call them “Doctor” for a while. It acknowledges their new degree. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/98 "2020-04-25T02:49:54Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > The PhD is the one with the terminal degree. While a few physicians have one as well, most just went to trade school. In the USA, physicians generally have a Medical Doctor Degree. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/99 "2020-04-25T02:51:12Z")
I imagine the world would be a lot better off if we stopped humoring assholes. No one needs to be called doctor in a social setting. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341/100 "2020-04-25T02:54:41Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Yeah, you can make that declaration, but there are people with Ph.D.s who say exactly the same thing in reverse – “Ph.D.s are the REAL doctors, not people who have non-terminal medical degrees.” I considered a MD to be a terminal degree. They are both Doctorates, you just come at them different ways. [https://study.com/articles/Doctor\_of\_Medicine\_Steps\_to\_Become\_a\_Medical\_Doctor.html](https://study.com/articles/Doctor_of_Medicine_Steps_to_Become_a_Medical_Doctor.html) _Degree Level Doctorate In order to become a doctor, you will need to obtain a doctorate degree in medicine._ > **[Difference Between MD and Phd](http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-md-and-phd/)** > > MD vs Phd MD and Phd are both higher degrees. MD stands for Doctor of Medicine, and Phd stands for Doctor of philosophy. The first difference that can be mentioned of the two, is that [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-title-doctor/852341.md?page=6)