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

Yabu - you are a doctor, don't be embarrassed!

@OhTheRoses

Medical Drs increasingly assume they may use everyone's first name in any event. They may always use mine if they introduce themselves with theirs. If not, they may call me Mrs. I find it extraordinary that they seem to dislike addressing people as their equals.

@OhTheRoses did you read what I posted upthread about the “My name is...” initiative?

also because I relish that I am no longer defined by my marital status.

Slightly OTT to do a PhD for that. You could just have used “Ms”.

(Haven’t read the full thread.)

@CheetasOnFajitas I must confess I didn't and I think it is an excellent initiative. It doesn't however seem to be stopping the practice and also as annoying is the tendency of nursing staff to use the patients' name whilst referring to the Dr as Dr or Mr!

There is also an excellent Facebook Group "don't call me Mum" which is equally pertinent.

[quote OhTheRoses]@CheetasOnFajitas I must confess I didn't and I think it is an excellent initiative. It doesn't however seem to be stopping the practice and also as annoying is the tendency of nursing staff to use the patients' name whilst referring to the Dr as Dr or Mr!

There is also an excellent Facebook Group "don't call me Mum" which is equally pertinent.[/quote]
[https://www.hellomynameis.org.uk/]

www.hellomynameis.org.uk/

Sorry link fail above.

I'd use Dr on every form I filled in. Why no - you are a Dr! Congratulations.

[quote OhTheRoses]@CheetasOnFajitas I must confess I didn't and I think it is an excellent initiative. It doesn't however seem to be stopping the practice and also as annoying is the tendency of nursing staff to use the patients' name whilst referring to the Dr as Dr or Mr!

There is also an excellent Facebook Group "don't call me Mum" which is equally pertinent.[/quote]
I don’t think this is ideal but I can see some logic in the distinction because nurses are often “closer” to the patient as they are dealing with their day to day care and so first-name terms are more normal (few people go by “Nurse Jones” these days). They address or refer to the Dr as “Doctor Brown” because it’s a quick way of describing their role- doctors often flit in and out quickly and there may be lots of different ones, and many patients are confused due to drugs or their conditions and see lots of other health care workers like speech therapists and physios and pharmacists throughout the day.

Personally i wouldn’t use your Dr title outside of your professional life, as most people will assume you’re a medical doctor.

And you’ll be called on every time someone feels ill on a flight etc. It gets embarrassing explaining you’re not a medical doctor, people look at you like you’re pretending to be a ‘real’ doctor as they don’t see a PHD in say Philosophy as equivalent to a medical degree (that’s my experience anyway!)

You have earned the title by the ‘proper’ route. I only have it as a courtesy title, as GP’s do. 100% use it and there’s your answer if it is questioned!!

*Personally i wouldn’t use your Dr title outside of your professional life, as most people will assume you’re a medical doctor.

And you’ll be called on every time someone feels ill on a flight etc. It gets embarrassing explaining you’re not a medical doctor, people look at you like you’re pretending to be a ‘real’ doctor as they don’t see a PHD in say Philosophy as equivalent to a medical degree (that’s my experience anyway!*

Not my experience.

I don’t care if people assume I’m a medical Dr. Mostly I’m asked what my field is and I’ll explain it’s a PhD in x research.

If people think I’m “pretending” to be a “real” dr then that’s their opinion. Again, I’m not really bothered by that. It just shows their ignorance of the education system.

As for flights etc, how many flights have you been on where a call as gone out for a Dr? It’s fairly rare and usually volunteers are called for first. As pp have said simply saying medicine isn’t your field is fine.

We need to get over this “what will other people think” crap, and that our high level academic achievements are something we should feel embarrassed about.

@CheetahsOnFajitas I see the logic too and the solution to me would be for everyone to be referred to by first name. " I'm John, Senior Reg or Consultant in charge of your care". That would also provide accurate information whilst not being reductive. What is particularly annoying is to sit in front of a new GP who says "hello OhThe, I am Dr Smith, Khan, etc. That's just awful and as a matter of principle I always ask if I may use their first name and it's extraordinary how many say "My name is Dr x". I would prefer not to have to say in that situation "then please call me Mrs Roses". I find it rather pass ag and it shouldn't happen bear in mind the profile of EDI within the NHS.

I use Dr and I’ve never been called upon in a flight. I genuinely think that one is a bit of a myth. The air crew are first aid trained and generally handle issues with minimum fuss. If an issue arose they’re not going to start checking titles on the passenger list - they’ll be dealing with the issue.

Plus doctors aren’t insured to be on-call on planes (this is a big consideration for North American doctors according to my North American medic friends - they’d be worried about opening themselves up to a lawsuit that would bankrupt them).

I know a lot of people who use Dr. Some are medical and some are academic. Never cared at all which one they are and if you worked for the title might as well use it.

That said I dislike all titles and think they are pointless in modern society but that is probably as my home country does not use them.

@OhTheRoses I find that almost all doctors just use their name now when they introduce themselves. They’re also likely to use my name too, rather than a title. I must somehow look to them like someone who’d much rather be addressed informally.

The GP’s receptionist always uses a title (unnecessarily - I’d much rather she called me Unconvincing than Mrs Username, which seems to be her default mode). I’d imagine she feels she needs to err on the side of formality.

@Solina

I know a lot of people who use Dr. Some are medical and some are academic. Never cared at all which one they are and if you worked for the title might as well use it.

That said I dislike all titles and think they are pointless in modern society but that is probably as my home country does not use them.

I think it’s mostly that you are right. They are pointless and archaic.

But if I have to input a title, I’ll use my actual title, since the system has insisted on it.

I have a BIL who is also a doctor, no idea of what, but....
ALL he wants to do is parade it around like a George Cross
So, he stayed at Uni longer than some to prevent having to work for a living, that's about right with this character
I went on a gullet cruise with five other couples in the eighties
On the first day we all agreed not to mention what we did for a living, that naked approach resulted in free discussions and relationships,
On the final day whilst waiting for the plane we went public
The nicest guy there l thought was a tax inspector cos of his black and white no nonsense attitude was a GP the one who was up his arse and new it all was a teacher. Guess which one had Dr on his passport??????
Just be who you are not claim kudos by a label

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

I was not belittling nurses but as someone who spent three decades as an emergency medicine specialist I would think I’m more qualified than the average nurse to assist in a plane in the event of a medical emergency. Seems not. Ok.

Personally i wouldn’t use your Dr title outside of your professional life, as most people will assume you’re a medical doctor.

This would just demonstrate a lack of knowledge about the education system. Why should someone change their behaviour because of someone else's limited knowledge?

And you’ll be called on every time someone feels ill on a flight etc. It gets embarrassing explaining you’re not a medical doctor,
The flight thing has never, ever happened to me, my husband or any of my friends or colleagues who have a PhD. It not embarrassing- I'm not embarrassed by my achievements.

people look at you like you’re pretending to be a ‘real’ doctor as they don’t see a PHD in say Philosophy as equivalent to a medical degree (that’s my experience anyway!)
I am a real doctor. I'm just not a medical doctor.
And you're right a medical degree is not equivalent to a PhD..... it's a lower qualification. Those with PhDs are the 'real' doctors.

@HoppingPavlova

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

I was not belittling nurses but as someone who spent three decades as an emergency medicine specialist I would think I’m more qualified than the average nurse to assist in a plane in the event of a medical emergency. Seems not. Ok.

Oh I’m sure you are. But you know full well that the reason that many posters (not just me) called you out was the way that you suggested that cabin crew would need to be “desperate” to ask for a nurse to help. I hope you are more respectful of the skills of the nurses who work alongside you.

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.

I didn’t insult nurses. I was saying there is a cascade of appropriate people to assist in an emergency on a flight. In the example you have given I would think your friend trumps
a dermatologist for example. So they would be better placed to assist. I was saying in my personal situation I would be better placed to assist than a nurse and probably even your friend, given my decades as an emergency specialist. I mean, yes, if I had a medical incident on a flight and it was a choice between your friend and a dermatologist I’d prefer your friend. If it was someone else on a flight and the choice was your friend or myself I believe I would be better placed.

Irrespective we would all be better placed than an expert in sixteenth century pottery.

Oh stop tying yourself up in knots @HoppingPavlova. It was the WAY you said it that speaks volumes about your attitude.

I hope you are more respectful of the skills of the nurses who work alongside you.

Yes, experienced emergency nurses are more skilled than any junior and many registrars so of course we are respectful of them! But to indicate that the average nurse would be better placed to assist on a plane than an emergency specialist is odd. As I said in another post anyone would prefer an experienced emergency nurse to a dermatologist or psychiatrist for example or even GP for that matter. That’s obvious. But would you prefer an experienced emergency nurse to an intensivist or emergency specialist? It’s all about suitability and my point was that if I was on a plane then I would wait until they established they got to someone who was less suitable than myself (given the situation involved) to step forward. So not sure why saying if someone was having a heart attack and they called for assistance and they got a nurse I’d think, time to step up is such a crime? It’s rhetorical actually, no need to answer as it doesn’t change anything.

I’m not tying myself up in knots. It’s just common sense.

FGS nobody is questioning your logic, but can’t you just apologise for saying “desperate”?