AIBU - use of ‘Dr’ title - is this normal?!

[Cheesecake45]

Just not sure if I need to get with the times or not - is it normal to go by the title ‘Dr’ simply for having a PhD, if you aren’t in the medical profession? I’m talking one of the easiest PhDs to get (comparatively speaking), nothing vaguely linked to medicine.

AIBU??
YES = this is totally normal get over yourself
NO = wouldn’t be caught dead calling myself a doctor unless I could be assistance in a medical emergency!

They’ve generally spent more time at school than medical doctors, yes they absolutely have the right

@wishIwasonholiday10 I'm Ms because I wanted a neutral title that doesn't reflect my marital status (married).

@FixTheBone
Your post made me laugh. Out of interest why do medical Drs drop the title when they reach a certain level of seniority?

PhD literally means Doctorate of Philosophy, so why would you hide your achievements in attaining it? If it bothers you, you can always use it formally but go by first name in everyday life, like the vast majority of Doctors at the uni I work at. No, I'm not a Doctor or lecturer, admin is my role lol

@pensione

They’re not really doctors though. No one thinks of PHD holders as doctors.
That's because you don't know what the word doctor really means and you only associate it with a medical doctor.
I absolutely think of someone with a PhD in nuclear physics or psychology or cancer science as a doctor of those subjects. It lets me know that they have dedicated years to research and are an expert in their field.

Clearly I do as some people on here seem to think they're handed out without any effort!

I don't understand your post. Are you saying medical doctors object to people with PhDs using the title Doctor?
If you are saying that explain please what right they have to object to someone using a title they are legitimately entitled to use. PhD is an academic qualification and no one has the right to say some one who has earned that qualification should not use the title.

Which is fine at work - in a professional realm I have no issue with it, although the attitude of the people demanding things be changed immediately was weird. But using it outside work shows a really overinflated opinion of it and your importance. Incidentally, where I worked was a medically based company and I have worked in healthcare for 30 years. Most of the doctors I work with now dont use their title outside of work environments. Like most people dont know about my Ph.D.

It certainly never was regarded as an thing other than showy offy and bad form in uk anyway 30+years ago but in writing one's name - one could put PhD if using a name card or on written article etc. ''Foreigners'' did it though.

With each post you make it becomes ever clearer that if you did actually have a PhD you'd probably walk about with "I'M A DOCTOR" on a post-it note stuck to your forehead and demand people doff their caps to you!

You just sound jealous or are holding some mad personal grudge towards someone with a doctorate 😂

Of course people should use the title, it's hard bloody work and well earned!

What specialties were these consultants in? I'm a physician and any consultant physician who dropped Dr for Mr would be laughed at.

I'm a medical doctor and have no problem at all with people with PhD's using their title. Haven't RTFT, but in case no one's posted already...our degrees are bachelor degrees and the title 'doctor' is honorary. Someone with a PhD (even an easy one, whatever that means!) has properly earned their title. So long as the PhD positive doctor isn't pretending to be a medical doctor it's quite correct that they use their title.

But why do your achievements warrant a change in your title and not other achievements.
Closing the debate down like you have doesn't seem a particularly educated thing to do. Maybe give some reason why this achievement has to be publicly recognised and others not.
And it effects everyone because there is the confusion already highlighted on this thread, the implied increase in status and entitlement that comes with the title for some (note, not saying all) and the division it creates for some.

This is a really interesting thread. I'm surprised that people find it pretentious or cringy to use doctor when you have, um, a doctorate. It's not showing off, it's just stating fact. I'd never presume that someone who is a Dr has a medical background.

I find it strange that people aren't generally horrified that a woman's title (Miss or Mrs) reveals their marital status (I still rarely see Ms used.) Yet men are Mr throughout their lives. The expectation and the norm is that women change their title and their surname when they marry. It's a weird double standard.

This simply isn't true.

DH has a PhD. His passport says Dr. 15+ years ago on a family holiday in the USA he became very ill and was airlifted to a hospital for emergency surgery. I sent his documents with him. I followed by road with the DDs. When we arrived at the ICU, they were keen to know what sort of Dr he was - DH was on life support at that stage so they couldn't ask him. I told them his area of expertise and their response was "oh, a proper doctor!" ie non-medical.

He uses his title in academia and work. He was listed as Dr Malbecfan on the DDs' school information.

A couple of teaching colleagues have PhDs. I always refer to them as Dr X in front of students as it's respectful. Now DD1 is 3 years into a PhD herself and I look forward to being able to call her Dr. I would love to know what one of the "easiest" PhDs is because DH and DD work(ed) bloody hard.

Several of my teachers at school were Dr's. It's never really crossed my mind as unusual or pretentious 🤷

The only time I think it is inappropriate to use the title Dr would be in a medical setting, if you're not a medical doctor. e.g. have a PhD in Biochemistry, then trained to be a physician associate.

My (ex) husband is a medical doctor and he never used his title outside of work, not sure whether he was typical or not. Most people I know with a PhD do though.

It’s often extremely useful to be Dr O Bravo. The default assumption is that anyone with Dr as their title is male. Being presumed male tends to make it easier to get things done.

Yes it's common as a daily title to replace Mr/Ms/Mdm/etc. They even have it in supermarket delivery drop-down forms! I don't get the reasoning/relevance at all, and don't think I'd do that, but it is still vv common

A PhD is a doctorate.
A medical ‘doctor’ has an MD and can get a PhD, if they research.
All have the academic title of ‘doctor’. Ignorance makes others think differently.

Surely it depends entirely on the job? In some professions, you need to signify status. In others, you really don't.

Why do surgeons drop the title?
I used to work for a couple. He was a dr & had different roles in different hospitals. 2 name badges lying around the house, one 'Mr.' & one 'Dr.'

@JamesPringle Agreed. I work with around 90 other married women and I'm the only Ms. Of course I can't be absolutely sure, but I'm guessing the vast majority also took on their husband's last name upon marriage as that still seems to be the norm here in England.

The only person I know of with that title was my old secondary school head. He was a doctor of English.