<p>Well, the janitor where I worked at Berkeley used to say, “Tom’s going to be a doctor. Mike’s going to be a doctor. You’re going to be a doctor. Pretty soon, everyone’s going to be a doctor.”</p>
<p>On the one hand, I certainly wouldn’t insist that anyone call me “Dr.” socially. On the other hand, within the university (not Chicago), it does strike a discordant note if an undergrad calls me anything other than “Dr.” or “Professor.” (It’s a different story for grad students.) I suppose that I have taught too many pre-meds over time to take adopt coureur’s viewpoint.</p>
<p>QM, I happen to agree with your expectations in using a title in an academic setting. </p>
<p>This said, what if your undergraduates believe that the title Professor carries a lot more respect than Doctor. Aren’t there plenty of PhD who are not professors yet?</p>
<p>I know a number of doctors who want to be called Dr. My H is a JD does not even care about the esquire. My father was in the military and we called everyone by their rank he insisted upon it.
I am a nurse, I would love to get an advanced degree. If i got a doctorate I would not want to be addressed as a doctor I like being a nurse. I am proud of it and you are right it is the nurse who saves your butt every time. just saying it like it is…</p>
<p>In response to xiggi’s question, #82, sure, “Professor” is fine. I am happy with either title, coming from an undergrad. There are a few faculty members around who insist on “Professor” rather than “Dr.” but I am not that particular. You are right–there are a lot of post-docs and other staff who have Ph.D.s, but are not professors.</p>
<p>This custom is so strong in the US military that I’m sure it must be some kind of formal rule of military behavior. You call everybody “(rank) (last name).”</p>
<p>Yes, that is the point! I wish healthcare professionals would figure that out. There is too much fighting going on between professionals and the patients ultimately suffer…</p>
<p>That reminds me of another rule (I believe) about using title or rank: If the person is of such a relation to you that you would normally call him Mister/Sir or her Miss/Missus/Ma’am, then a title or rank should be used in its place when one exists.</p>
<p>^^That reminds me of a time when I was assisting a surgeon (a truly world-renowned guy). He asked me for some particular instrument and I replied ‘Yes, sir!’ - somewhat absentmindedly…
He then said, ‘Uh-oh, I must be in trouble.’ ;)</p>
<p>My husband just retired from 22 years in the military and I never called anyone by their rank, nor did our son. I’m a civilian, it’s no longer appropriate or expected that I would address someone by their military rank. </p>
<p>My husband used his rank in the military and in our civilian social life we went by “Mr and Mrs.” Sometimes other civilians would address him by his rank and he would always say, “Please call me Mr. PMK” or, more often, by his first name. Of course, he was in the Marine Corps, perhaps other branches handle it differently. </p>
<p>An exception would be if I was introducing someone on active duty to another person on active duty, then I would say, “Major Lee, please meet Captain Jones.”</p>
<p>There’s a very funny cartoon on Youtube about a doctor talking to a nurse/doctor. It’s called Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) vs. Medical Doctor (MD) </p>
<p>Jumping in late to the party, but here goes. I am a physical therapist who has been around since the minimum education was a bachelors; saw it move to masters and now professional doctorate (DPT). Amongst PT’s here in California (and the opinion of the PT licensing board) is that PT’s may NOT present themselves as Dr Crazymom. We can certainly indicate our degree as evidence of our credentials but not so as to confuse the patients. Frankly, most PT’s I know who have DPT’s are quite humble about their degree and are not out to confuse anyone. Ultimately, the quality of care is not the education one receives but how one utilizes that education to deliver quality patient care regardless of degreee earned.</p>
<p>I have a PhD in Psychology and never have asked to be called Dr. with clients; I prefer my first name. But I will pull out the credential at times to support a cause. I put in the time, after all.</p>