Did York end up going through with its Med School plans?

[A-Stark]

I work with tons of phd's and every single one of them goes by their first name. I couldn't call some of them dr even if I wanted to because I don't know their last names! They introduce themselves by their first name too. If I don't know someone well, or if they are old-school, then I address them as Professor ___. Its still respectful. the execption would be a phd who is not a professor, and who I don't know very well...would probably go with dr in that case. The way I see it is that anyone who I respect enough to call dr isn't going to go by that title. At least in my experience, it's only ever been the professors who I have zero respect for that call themselves dr- this has only happened once though.

 

Um, the PhD is the highest ranked degree and arguably has more right to the title "doctor" than any physician does. For physicians, "doctor" is just a customary title (at least in English-speaking countries - in Germany it is considered appropriate and they might go by "Herr Professor Doktor"). Never noticed that many from the UK or Australia have "MB" or "MBBS" after their names rather than MD? More to the point, I certainly didn't call any of my undergrad profs by their first names, not until later on at the very least anyhow.

[CharmingHedgehog]

They do. A certain program director at my school loves to call themselves doctor. I've started referring to them as "hello."

 

Got one in our faculty, too. We have "lovingly" dubbed him Dr. Dr.

[ophtho_gunner]

O what sheer ignorance in this thread! So you got introduced to PhDs by their first name and you continue to call them by their first name. Would you do that too if a visiting PhD researcher gave a talk and you had to address him? Or would you say Mr. xyz? Or would you say Prof xyz? What if that researcher was not a professor i.e. did not teach?

 

PhDs are doctors since they hold doctorate degrees. Translated, they are doctors of philosophy (PhD). To address them with any other title in professional setting is arrogance on your part.

 

MDs are called doctors because the word doctor in this sense implies someone who heals disease. Technically, MDs do not have doctorate degrees.

 

Next time make sure that you do not depict your arrogance by calling a Phd by Mr/Prof so and so.

[limoncello]

Obviously if you are meeting some researcher who is not a professor and who you don't know, you would call them doctor. When you are in a setting where every single person refers to every other person on a first name basis though, it would be weird to call them doctor. And it is perfectly acceptable to call YOUR professor by the title of professor. For example, if I wanted to email my biology professor, I would start the email with "Hello Prof. Noel."

 

"Arrogance" would be emailing, say, Prof. Skinner, and writing something along the lines of 'yo mr. harvmeister, what's shakin' bacon?'

 

LOL You would be surprised how some students phrase their emails.....speaking from an experience as a TA and as someone who works closely with profs who teach core courses who sometimes forward funny/inappropriate/stupid emails to the TA's (without revealing the identity of the sender of course)

[phosgenic]

it only makes sense to call phDs doctor... they've earned it!

 

Don't get me started on chiropractors though. I understand its a doctor of chiropractic designation but it shouldn't be!

 

I'd like to get you started... The chiropractic program is fairly rigorous and intensive... if you're making that declaration about chiropractors then I'd argue that you'd have to include all phd's attained in a relatively soft field of study as well.... your two sentences are rather contradictory to me... are you saying that a phd in x (may x represent a field of study that can be described as lacking in difficulty) deserves to be called a doctor and someone who's gone through chiropractic school doesn't?

[NLengr]

I'd like to get you started... The chiropractic program is fairly rigorous and intensive... if you're making that declaration about chiropractors then I'd argue that you'd have to include all phd's attained in a relatively soft field of study as well.... your two sentences are rather contradictory to me... are you saying that a phd in x (may x represent a field of study that can be described as lacking in difficulty) deserves to be called a doctor and someone who's gone through chiropractic school doesn't?

 

If by fairly rigorous you mean rigorously studying topics that are unproven/disproven, then yes, it's rigorous. They then promote and sell these ideas to a gullible and desperate-for-a-cure public. At least soft science PhDs make an attempt to follow evidence and scientific theory.

 

A huge portion of the chiropractic profession are snake oil salesmen.

 

I'm also gonna say that you should be calling PhDs doctor. They hold the degree, it's not like they deserve any less. Its the same as still calling a ships engineer and engineer, even though he's not a B Eng./P. Eng. It's completely appropriate in that context.

 

Also, we are way off topic.

[EoE]

I would say a PhD means 'Expert in [something]'. So it is more like a qualification. It means very different things to be an expert in the history of dutch trading and to be an expert in neuroscience. Not any better, just different. The nature of the fields dictates what it means to be an expert.

 

Similarly, I think of calling a person with a PhD 'a doctor' sounds odd, but someone with PhD is called 'Dr. So-and-So' as a formal title. When would you call someone 'Mr. So-and-So' instead you call them 'Dr...' if they have any kind of doctorate. Like when introducing them for a seminar or when addressing them in formal correspondence. So maybe a prof is called 'Dr. Smith' but is not 'a doctor'? The general term 'a doctor' we reserve for the MDs. That is just my humble opinion, it is not a rule or anything!

 

PS No one calls me 'doctor', mostly they just call me 'sir'. As in, 'can you please put your shirt back on, sir'...