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!

I accidentally ended up as Dr Mrs KL on a system once - both me and the person behind the desk laughed at how ridiculous that sounded, and they promptly edited it to remove the Mrs! One title is enough, Dr is my preferred title.

I posted about my ex-colleague just above. I have a post-graduate professional qualification so although I am not a PhD, my qualification is internationally respected. I also work (in education) with plenty of PhDs. Which is why I began to query my ex-colleague's actual qualification. I even asked on here how I could find non-published PhD dissertations. She wouldnt discuss her specialty, where she had taken it, or any other details. No search brings anything up. I only began to look when she lied to me about another qualification (one I have) and she overstated the level and what it meant. Our HR department was either incompetent or conned. This person had worked over 10 jobs in 5 years - really easy to see why. So yeah there is no way this person had worked hard for 3+ years to gain a PhD. Her lies devalue all of your (plural) efforts.

I think you’ll find Dr also means the holder of a degree not just a medical professional.

I didn't say it was pretentious. Did you actually read what you quoted.
My point is, still not answered, is why should this achievement result in an entitlement to change your title so everyone knows you have achieved a PhD (which I know are hard to achieve, I've been linked to research and higher education for decades) when other achievements are not. And why is it so important to some (not all) that their hard work is publicly recognised. And do they think this effects how people deal with them.
And why is a thread full of PhD achievement posters so lacking in reasoned and rational debate.
But what's it to me, seems to be as far as it goes.

I work in a professional sphere with many colleagues with PhDs, and not one of them refers to themselves as Dr in work. They’d be eye rolled out of the place within minutes.

Surgeons go back to Mr/Mrs/Ms after their post-grad exams. But if a surgeon has a PhD/MD they might want to use either depending on context. A joyful quirk of the NHS is that name badges don't always get updated that often/reflect what our actual jobs are. The Mr/Dr thing comes from the good old days when surgeons were non-university educated barbers with a surgical skill set, but physicians were terribly clever university types who liked to use the title so no one got them mixed up with the barbers.

It's considered a bit pretentious in certain circles. But I can't see what's wrong with it.

There’s a strong objection to the title used by non doctors in a clinical environment. It’s misleading.

Yes, and sometimes deliberately so.

Dr Jessica Taylor, for example, is a social media influencer type who has done a PhD in a psychology related subject (Victim Blaming)

She uses the Dr title ALWAYS, and calls herself a "chartered psychologist" which although is technically true, does NOT mean she's qualified to treat or diagnose patients/clients. She's able to call herself a psychologist only on the basis of the narrow research o Victim Blaming she did for her PhD.

People who are qualified to have clients are "clinical psychologists". She categorically isn't one.

However, she's built up a sizable social media following under her name Dr Jess Taylor and often posts her thoughts about mental health diagnosis, or conditions such as ADHD, ASD, Personality Disorders etc. She claims psychiatry is "patriarchy with a pen" and posts content that could easily be interpreted by her followers that they should come off their meds - indeed some have done so, after reading her posts.

But, she is no more qualified to give her opinions on such matters than you or I (assuming you're not clinically qualified either - apologies to any suitably qualified clinicians here!)

She pops up as a talking head on documentaries on Channel 5 / Netflix etc, with her title as something like "Dr Jessica Taylor, Chartered Psychologist" talking about people as a clinical psychologist might, and so people assume that's what she is.

She makes money out of exploting the general public's ignorance on this, and some of the advice she gives is actually dangerous.

So, I'm torn. On the one hand, I do think people should be proud of their achievements, and why not show them off. But on the other hand, the Dr title is problematic because it can be used to mislead in this way.

They should invent a new title that shows the difference between the two IMO.

What an awful place to work! I couldn't work anywhere education was devalued or mocked.

That's really interesting. I'd actually prefer my surgeon to be an illiterate chav with mad coordination skills than book smart and just ok at coordination!

Do you know what pretentious means?

I think you are correct that a three year old thinks a doctor is a man with a stethoscope.

On reaching adulthood most people understand the term doctor refers to a certain level of education .

I think it varies depending on where you are in the world. All of my US PhD colleagues call themselves Dr or 'Ms X, PhD'. None of my UK colleagues do.

Personally if I had a PhD I would be Dr all day long :)

That’s another bonus: it is a truly gender non-specific and equal term that says nothing about either your gender or your marriage status.

There is nothing odd about it at all. Not all Doctors are medics. And there is no such thing as an “easy” PhD. Do you have any idea what is involved in a PhD? It is nothing like a taught degree.

I would imagine only ignorant people think this!
And yes, I started a PhD and never finished it- there's no such thing as an easy PhD either!

Someone (an actual medical doctor) once told me about a person with a PhD who insisted on being called doctor in all circumstances being called upon to help with an emergency on an aeroplane as the crew knew he was a 'doctor'. I think this is the potential downside of using the title in everyday life., people misunderstanding and expecting medical assistance. Obviously in professional life it makes sense to use it especially if the subject is relevant to the line of work. A medical doctor I knew used their title and maiden name for work purposes but in their private life was simply Mrs husband's surname.

fortunately these days they're quite likely to be book smart and well super-coordinated!

No one thinks of PHD holders as doctors.

🙄🤔

Well they quite literally are.

It’s not awful at all, and is in fact a higher education adjacent sector. It’s just irrelevant in our sphere.

I said comparatively easy, no PhD is easy and I didn’t mean to offend, but obviously there’s a difference between a PhD from Cambridge in astrophysics and an online PhD in another subject.

I was asking because personally I use ‘Ms’ as opposed to ‘Dr' other than at work - as I believe people would assume medical doctor if I introduced myself as Dr (outside of the workplace). I'd feel a bit silly calling myself Dr to, for example, a GP. That’s all! Didn’t expect such a big response 😂

You sound like you have a massive chip on your shoulder. And clearly haven't known many people with PhDs.

But, to be honest, I think that's often the type that are drawn to doing a PhD. Very wrapped up in their own cleverness and importance.

Wtf.....! I mean, I guess research isn't important or anything. It's not like we need new knowledge or advancement as a society.

Clearly what we need to do is put a stop to clever people contributing new knowledge to their specialist subject. Who do they think they are?! 🙄🙄🙄

FYI I did my PhD because my employer changed the conditions of my contract. No phd meant no job.
However, as a first generation student who grew up in one of the most deprived areas of the uk and attended a school once dubbed the worst in England, I'm pretty damn proud of my achievements. I'm not ashamed of that.

@parttimeweddingplanner I can't comment on the specifics of the person you have referenced, but you say that she calls herself a 'chartered psychologist' which you say is true, and calls herself a Dr because she has a PhD, which is also valid. So she isn't doing anything wrong in that respect.

Whether she herself is using dubious methods in her research or practice is another matter, but that does not take away from the fact that she has a right to call herself a Dr and a chartered psychologist.

After all, there are articles all the time about people in all professions doing dubious things (including medical doctors). It doesn't mean an earned title should be taken away from the rest of the group.

So just because it's irrelevant in your "sphere", you eye roll at someone who chooses to use their normal title? Why?