Should the term physician be restricted to MDs?

[Robin Hood]

In the US, podiatrists' professional order refers to DPMs as physicians, Medicare does it with ODs. In Québec, the law refers to DMVs as médecins vétérinaires (veterinary physicians). Do you think some non-MD health professionals should be classified as physicians?

[Savac]

In the US, podiatrists' professional order refers to DPMs as physicians, Medicare does it with ODs. In Québec, the law refers to DMVs as médecins vétérinaires (veterinary physicians). Do you think some non-MD health professionals should be classified as physicians?

 

Yes, they should.

 

In my opinion, the scope of practice of a DPM more than qualifies them as a physician.

[Silverwolf1277]

In the US, podiatrists' professional order refers to DPMs as physicians, Medicare does it with ODs. In Québec, the law refers to DMVs as médecins vétérinaires (veterinary physicians). Do you think some non-MD health professionals should be classified as physicians?

 

No. Physician and MD are synonymous terms, and one of the only ways currently to distinguish when you're talking about someone who's a medical doctor vs. a PhD.

[Savac]

Physician and MD are synonymous terms

 

So what would you call a DO?

[Silverwolf1277]

So what would you call a DO?

 

Sorry I should have included that with MD. Because they can practice the full scope of the medical practice.

 

You can call anyone you want a physician, but then the meaning of the term changes. I don't understand what the big deal is with different professions wanting the label (I'm assuming it's just a prestige thing). It's like being a teacher and demanding that your students refer to you as professor.

[Savac]

Sorry I should have included that with MD. Because they can practice the full scope of the medical practice.

 

You can call anyone you want a physician, but then the meaning of the term changes. I don't understand what the big deal is with different professions wanting the label (I'm assuming it's just a prestige thing). It's like being a teacher and demanding that your students refer to you as professor.

 

So you wouldn't call a DPM a physician? They go through 4 years of medical school and 3 years of residency. Once they graduate, they can perform several procedures including surgery. I'm not sure how you can distinguish between a DPM and an MD/DO (especially since there are so many different specialties in medicine). There's a reason that they're referred to as physicians.

[Orcamute]

M.D, DO and DVM should all be called Dr's.

 

Practices that aren't quite as intensive such as Optometry and DPT should have a special name as well (I don't think they should be called doctors though).

 

OR..keep the term "doctors" for all the "doctorate degrees" but use a different word for MD's, DO's and DVM's.

[Silverwolf1277]

So you wouldn't call a DPM a physician? They go through 4 years of medical school and 3 years of residency. Once they graduate, they can perform several procedures including surgery. I'm not sure how you can distinguish between a DPM and an MD/DO (especially since there are so many different specialties in medicine). There's a reason that they're referred to as physicians.

 

I'm sorry you keep quoting cases that apply mostly to the US which I may have neglected because it's just not something I think about regularly. I think if you've gone to medical school then you're a physician (whether that be osteopathic, podiatric, veterinary) but not if you do some completely different job.

 

M.D, DO and DVM should all be called Dr's.

 

Practices that aren't quite as intensive such as Optometry and DPT should have a special name as well (I don't think they should be called doctors though).

 

OR..keep the term "doctors" for all the "doctorate degrees" but use a different word for MD's, DO's and DVM's.

 

Agreed. And I think that's the purpose the term physician serves currently. Wouldn't make sense to use it for other professions.

[Savac]

I'm sorry you keep quoting cases that apply mostly to the US which I may have neglected because it's just not something I think about regularly. I think if you've gone to medical school then you're a physician (whether that be osteopathic, podiatric, veterinary) but not if you do some completely different job.

 

I just used the DPM case because the OP brought it up.

 

I agree with your post

[Robin Hood]

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/201...7/prl20627.htm

Any thoughts?

[Hockeynut]

All i know is the term DOCTOR is alright for a clinician but the prefix Dr. is not, should be reserved for people with a PhD. (like what they do in Europe, especially Spain)

[thebouque]

All i know is the term DOCTOR is alright for a clinician but the prefix Dr. is not, should be reserved for people with a PhD. (like what they do in Europe, especially Spain)

 

What are you talking about?

[Skylerate2]

All these mid levels clamoring to be called doctors/physicians is quite alarming and frankly disgusting. All making the term "doctor" and "physician" more prevalent does is

 

1) Lower it's value and the respect associated with it (which is counter intuitive to what these mid levels want)

 

2) Confuse people as to what physician they have to see for their problems, because everyone under the sun will be one!

[maritimer]

All these mid levels clamoring to be called doctors/physicians is quite alarming and frankly disgusting.

 

As a PA student-please, don't quote or generalise to all midlevels. This is more of a NP issue than a PA issue.

 

I'm also sure not all NPs share the view of wanting to be called Dr. either.

[Orcamute]

You can get a doctorate in literally everything lmao.

 

Everybody wants to be a doctor but nobody wants to read no heavy ass anatomy books.

[futureGP]

In the US, podiatrists' professional order refers to DPMs as physicians, Medicare does it with ODs. In Québec, the law refers to DMVs as médecins vétérinaires (veterinary physicians). Do you think some non-MD health professionals should be classified as physicians?

 

imo,

 

physician should strictly be used by MD/DO. There is no other way to call an MD/DO aside from physician or doctor. So a 'physician' is something specific to MD/DO.

 

DPM can be called podiatrists, DVM can be called veterinarians, DDS/DMD can be called dentists, ODs can be called optometrists. AuD can be called audiologists.

 

The above are imo a better description of their jobs and their specialty and better appreciated too.

[futureGP]

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/201...7/prl20627.htm

Any thoughts?

 

well...DPM wanting to be MD/DO?

 

since we're talking about it in the states... as long as they go through the USMLE process, and abide by the similar residency requirements, why not?

 

 

why not integrate them all together with the traditional MD/DO school and create a single residency for podiatry that any MD/DO can apply for? idk how popular it would be though

[Renin]

I think that only MD's should be doctors, especially in the hospital/clinical setting. When someone identifies themselves as "Dr. Smith" I expect them to be an MD at the hospital, not nurse with a PhD (or whatever).

 

I have noticed though, that the PhD's who aren't MD's in the hospital don't generally call themselves "Dr. Smith" even though their nametag may say so. Case in point, our team pharmacist who is a PhD calls himself by his first name when introducing himself to a patient. I guess he COULD introduce himself as "Dr. Smith" but doesn't that just generate a ton of confusion?

 

All non MD's can call themselves Dr. on paper if they want for social stuff or on their credit cards or whatever. I don't really care about that. I just don't think that it should impact patient care and efficient communication.

[Robin Hood]

well...DPM wanting to be MD/DO?

 

since we're talking about it in the states... as long as they go through the USMLE process, and abide by the similar residency requirements, why not?

 

 

why not integrate them all together with the traditional MD/DO school and create a single residency for podiatry that any MD/DO can apply for? idk how popular it would be though

 

Yeah. I don‘t get why is podiatry not part of medicine, same for optometry. Dentists are happy to be able to rob patients that‘s why they don‘t want to be MDs.

[Mandibular]

Yeah. I don‘t get why is podiatry not part of medicine, same for optometry. Dentists are happy to be able to rob patients that‘s why they don‘t want to be MDs.

 

optometry is far from being a medical specialty, they rarely learn pancorporel pathophysiology, its really the job of a glorified technician, just look at their curriculum

 

http://www.progcours.umontreal.ca/programme/index_fiche_prog/165511_struc.html

 

whereas for podiatry, they have more or less a similar preclerkship curriculum as standard medical schools do

[Robin Hood]

optometry is far from being a medical specialty, they rarely learn pancorporel pathophysiology, its really the job of a glorified technician, just look at their curriculum

 

http://www.progcours.umontreal.ca/programme/index_fiche_prog/165511_struc.html

 

whereas for podiatry, they have more or less a similar preclerkship curriculum as standard medical schools do

 

In most countries, they don't have optometrists, only ophthalmologists. Can't we have a physician speciality that cares for eyes without doing surgery?

 

Also, on here, this DPM curriculum doesn't look much like preclerkship med school ones:

https://oraprdnt.uqtr.uquebec.ca/pls/public/pgmw001?owa_cd_pgm=7017

[thehumanmacbook]

In most countries, they don't have optometrists, only ophthalmologists. Can't we have a physician speciality that cares for eyes without doing surgery?

 

Also, on here, this DPM curriculum doesn't look much like preclerkship med school ones:

https://oraprdnt.uqtr.uquebec.ca/pls/public/pgmw001?owa_cd_pgm=7017

 

Medical Retina is a sub-speciality of ophthal. that can care for patients without performing surgery. However they are technically ophthalmologists, which are a branch of Surgery in most departments (not to mention they do learn how to perform certain surgeries in residency...)

[Robin Hood]

Medical Retina is a sub-speciality of ophthal. that can care for patients without performing surgery. However they are technically ophthalmologists, which are a branch of Surgery in most departments (not to mention they do learn how to perform certain surgeries in residency...)

 

I have read on SDN that many people choose optometry instead of going to med school to do ophthalmology to avoid the workload associated with eye surgery.

But at the same time, there's a turn war between optos and ophthalmos in the US it seems.

Also, by having two professions who do a lot of the same stuff, aren't we having an unnecessary duplication of structures?

[futureGP]

I have read on SDN that many people choose optometry instead of going to med school to do ophthalmology to avoid the workload associated with eye surgery.

But at the same time, there's a turn war between optos and ophthalmos in the US it seems.

Also, by having two professions who do a lot of the same stuff, aren't we having an unnecessary duplication of structures?

 

well, ophthalmologists probably don't want to spend their time giving prescriptions for glasses when they can better spend their time doing laser surgeries earning so much more $$/hr

 

i think having optometrists are good as long as they stay within their realm of expertise. Their primary job is to give prescriptions for glasses ---- measure visual acuity and identify how much of a correction is needed.

 

Like I said earlier, their role in primary care of the eye has JUST begun to be noticed -- but they don't do any of the treatments or diagnoses which I think should only be reserved to ophthalmologists (E.g. a corneal ulcer may be recognized by an optometrist during an eye exam but they would just not treat it and refer it off to an MD)

[Mandibular]

In most countries, they don't have optometrists, only ophthalmologists. Can't we have a physician speciality that cares for eyes without doing surgery?

 

Also, on here, this DPM curriculum doesn't look much like preclerkship med school ones:

https://oraprdnt.uqtr.uquebec.ca/pls/public/pgmw001?owa_cd_pgm=7017

 

they have all the biochem, physiology, internal, ortho classes that we do, much closer to a med curriculum than opto