To sign up at the surgery as ‘Dr’

[Chocolatebutton43]

I got my PhD two months ago, moved to a new place and signed up to a new doctor’s surgery and dental practice.

Filling in the forms, I got a bit carried away with my new title and ticked the ‘dr’ box! I’ve been doing it a lot lately for silly little things partly ‘cause I’m just happy to have finished and passed my degree and also because I relish that I am no longer defined by my marital status.

But, I now need to visit the surgery and I feel like an idiot. The form also had occupation so the doctor will know I’m not a medical doctor. Is he/she going to think I am a total prat for using Dr outside my work and at the doctor’s surgery of all places? Cringe

@NerrSnerr

I don’t think you should have put yourself as Dr as to me it means a medical doctor.

The OP shouldn't use the title she earned because you're too stupid to realise that there are different types of dr? That's your problem not hers!

God forbid that I should be allowed an opinion on a forum 🙄

I am a community nurse. We see a few patients who have Dr in the title and tbh the only ones that annoy me are ones who pretend to be medical doctors when their PhD is in something totally unrelated or otherwise try to use it to bully me into something clinically inappropriate. As long as you are open about what you do you will be fine.

not enough women use their academic titles, we need to go for it and be proud! Took me 7 years of slog, and I’d rather have it over a Mrs or Miss defining my marital status.

100% this!!
I've never come across a male academic who even thought twice about this. Use it, you've earned it!

To those who asked, my phD was in Psychology, specifically about language development

@Otter71

I am a community nurse. We see a few patients who have Dr in the title and tbh the only ones that annoy me are ones who pretend to be medical doctors when their PhD is in something totally unrelated or otherwise try to use it to bully me into something clinically inappropriate. As long as you are open about what you do you will be fine.

Do you get significant numbers of people with doctorates pretending to be medical doctors and trying to bully you?

How does it manifest itself, this “pretending to be a medical doctor”? Do they walk around with a stethoscope round their neck?

Tbh you always get patients trying it on with something their convinced will work because they read it on google.

@starfishmummy

I'm old and back in the day it was never the done thing to call yourself Dr if it was a PhD. Unless you worked in academia, where it was used for work purposes only. But times change...

I'm old too, and I have never, ever encountered such a thing. When was this - the Dark Ages? In my experience, quite the reverse - men (and it was almost always men who held such degrees) made damned sure you never called then by anything else! People are much more relaxed about it now.

I’m going to disagree, I don’t think you should have put yourself as Dr as to me it means a medical doctor.

But it doesn't just mean a medical doctor. Just because some people don't understand that she should refrain from using a title she's earned? She's just as entitled to use this a title as a medical doctor.

It is ok to use yours in a university/ job type setting.

Maybe we should only use 'Mrs' when we're in the presence of our spouse? Why would someone swap titles depending on the situation? How annoying and confusing would that be?

If I were you I’d change it at the surgeries as I think it’s embarrassing.

It's really not embarrassing in the slightest. It's a fantastic achievement. Congratulations OP

Go for it. I have reverse problem, am a medical consultant and registered at the GP as ‘Miss’ as don’t want to be treated differently (there’s a weird phenomenon certainly In hospitals that junior doctors are a bit scared to manage senior doctors as patients and you end up more neglected!). I know very little about the stuff I need GP advice on so it suits me but there are moments when I’ve wondered if I should admit it.

Medical doctor here. Totally fine to use Dr in this situation. Wouldn't think you were being pompous and very aware that you are a real doctor and we have just borrowed the title.

Personally I think it’s a dick move. Three scenarios where I would not use this as my title if I was not medically qualified are medical situations, plane tickets and social settings. I have always been happy to use my title in medical settings to flag to others that I am also medically qualified. I learnt the hard way never to use it on planes as constantly on call on long haul for anything and everything no matter how minor, and if they get really desperate they will put a call out. It’s rare for there to be no one else but if they start getting desperate and asking for a nurse etc or it’s obvious the person helping is someone like a dermatologist with no clue then I’d offer. Also learnt the hard way with paperwork and children’s schools, miraculous how many injured kids sitting there at the end of sports day and you are asked if you can ‘just pop into the office quickly’ on pick up if they know. Using it in a social setting is also a dick move as it’s of no relevance whether you are a Dr, pilot or garbage collector if introducing yourself to your child’s friends parents for example.

Using it in a social setting is also a dick move as it’s of no relevance whether you are a Dr, pilot or garbage collector if introducing yourself to your child’s friends parents for example.

OP did not at any point say that she planned to go round socially introducing herself as “Dr”. She said that she wanted to use it in situations where people were asked for their title, such as GP registration forms.
Why call her a dick for something that she never said she would do?

It indeed would be a dick move to introduce yourself to your children's friends' parents as Dr Popping.

But putting down the correct title when asked on a form? Nope.

I've never been asked to perform any medical procedures, on a plane or at a sports day. I'm often going to conferences (in non pandemic times) with several others on the same plane, so we are all the wrong kind of Drs.

Not an issue IMO.

And if I make Professor, I will be putting that on absolutely everything!

I use Dr - I have a PhD in physics. I'd rather not use Mrs/Ms/Miss so I use the title I earned by my hard work. Never come up as an issue on aeroplanes tbh. It has worked to my advantage when dealing with medics - had a lovely chat with a consultant who was writing up his thesis once; it really broke the ice and we commiserated about how horrible writing up is!
I think there is a wave of anti-intellectual snobbery in this country and it does us no favours. The people who have decried me as a snobby twat for using 'Dr' can shove it, quite frankly.

They will know your not a dr and won't care. DH is a dr (hospital consultant) but uses mr as a title for most things (including gp surgery) because he hates it as an identifier

I meant not a 'medical dr' in the first bit
Well done by the way

I think there is a wave of anti-intellectual snobbery in this country and it does us no favours.

I was just about to write this. It's something I've noticed and it's really quite sad.

I think there is a wave of anti-intellectual snobbery in this country and it does us no favours

Could not agree more.

Use it with pride.

Funnily enough I posted this exact question 5 years ago and was told overwhelmingly to use it and be proud. Times and the MN demographic has shifted perhaps. Its sad.

Quote of the thread for me..

Personally I think it’s a dick move.

Says it all

@SueEllenMishke absolutely - I remember a thread a while back where people were getting all frothy about whether people should use their Dr or not. Anti-intellectual shite. I earned it, I will use it. I have not used ‘miss’ since it was awarded to me, and I have never used Mrs. It is a little tricky in the work arena sometimes, where there is a trend for neither titles, nor letters after. Which makes me sad sometimes because it’s part of my identity really - I always add it on to my email if I’m sending something to people where it might be relevant, but not internally. Mostly because it’s not in a relevant field to our sector.

@Mebeline it depends where you post....a perusal of the TES forums from a few years ago will tell you how much many teachers hate it when one of their own has a higher qual. Oh the vitriol!

To the OP - congratulations...

Never come up as an issue on aeroplanes tbh

Some people do travel as "Dr", FWIW in the very rare event that a doctor is needed to assist onboard these days most crew members are well aware that they shouldn't assume that that person is medically qualified.

if they start getting desperate and asking for a nurse etc

Wow.

Um.

I'm not sure where to start with this.

@SarahAndQuack

if they start getting desperate and asking for a nurse etc

Wow.

Um.

I'm not sure where to start with this.

I think the phrase that fits re belittling nurses is “dick move”.

@HoppingPavlova

Personally I think it’s a dick move. Three scenarios where I would not use this as my title if I was not medically qualified are medical situations, plane tickets and social settings. I have always been happy to use my title in medical settings to flag to others that I am also medically qualified. I learnt the hard way never to use it on planes as constantly on call on long haul for anything and everything no matter how minor, and if they get really desperate they will put a call out. It’s rare for there to be no one else but if they start getting desperate and asking for a nurse etc or it’s obvious the person helping is someone like a dermatologist with no clue then I’d offer. Also learnt the hard way with paperwork and children’s schools, miraculous how many injured kids sitting there at the end of sports day and you are asked if you can ‘just pop into the office quickly’ on pick up if they know. Using it in a social setting is also a dick move as it’s of no relevance whether you are a Dr, pilot or garbage collector if introducing yourself to your child’s friends parents for example.

It's also a dick move to insult nurses. My friend is an emergency nurse practitioner and is in the RAF reserves and is a trained flight nurse. You'll be lucky if you fall in and she's n the flight and they're 'desperate' enough to ask for a nurse.