people who are not medical doctors shouldn't have DR as their prefix, amirite?

Medical doctors copied the term. They are not the originators. If anything, they should change their title.. or you know, accept that it's a term used across disciplines.

by Double_Friendship_35 8 hours ago

...it's because you got a doctorate. A doctorate is a degree. You can get a degree in many things.

by Anonymous 8 hours ago

This. Just because one profession has the name doctor does not make the title exclusive.

by AwareAgency4166 8 hours ago

when we talk about school, I like to explain that I went to grade 25 in physics.

by magnuskshlerin 8 hours ago

And a doctorate in any other field besides medicine involves publishing novel research and adds to humanity's collective knowledge. Medical school is just taking classes, which is just memorizing material someone else collected for you.

by loren23 8 hours ago

I'm not entirely sure you do understand it. It's like the word "theory" the colloquial usage, and the real definition is not the same, but that doesn't make the real definition any less useful or necessary. That's the reason for the "M" in MD because the degree a medical doctor holds is one specific kind of doctoral degree that qualifies them for the job of "Physician". A doctor is a person who holds the highest degree in their field

by Anonymous 7 hours ago

There's nothing pretentious about it. It's not like a PhD is somehow less prestigious because it's not from a medical field. Also it seems like the one that's having trouble h understanding is you, because referring to people with PhDs as doctors seems to be acceptable to most lol

by Anonymous 7 hours ago

No, they roll their eyes at you if you are weird about your title, as caricatured by Ross Gellar in Friends.

by Anonymous 7 hours ago

You would give recognition and respect to a physician outside of a medical setting, but would not do the same for an academic doctorate? Why make that distinction in the first place?

by mackenziebecker 6 hours ago

I think they're rolling their eyes at you for thinking you know more than a physicist or a chemist lol

by Anonymous 6 hours ago

No one without a medical degree should have MD next to their name. That's fair. Doctorates come in all fields. Which is why medical doctors specify in their title, Dr. John Smith, MD. It's not that difficult for anyone with more than a few brain cells to wrap their head around.

by Anonymous 6 hours ago

yeah i agree and all medical documents have this but you know what doesn't? emails… i got an email today from a professor i have who called himself DR so and so and then no suffix… so i don't know what he is without having to check

by EconomyPlantain 6 hours ago

Funnily enough the opposite is true in some countries. In Germany if I remember correctly if you are a doctor you cannot put Dr in front of your name. This is reserved for doctorates.

by Ok_Net7487 6 hours ago

A medical doctor is not a "doctor" in German, he is an "Arzt".

by Jacobinathanial 5 hours ago

Are medical degrees not doctorates?

by Anonymous 5 hours ago

professional degrees.

by mackenziebecker 5 hours ago

They are not. They are very often Bachelor's of Medicine.

by PapayaFlaky8094 5 hours ago

A "medical doctor" is someone who has their doctorate in medicine. It's not the medicine that makes them a doctor, it's the doctorate. You know, the thing "doctor" is named after it. It's like calling someone an apprentice, journeyman, or master. "Doctor" denotes a specific level of academic training.

by Prestigious_Tune2690 5 hours ago

i'm not sure why this is a major theme here could be it wasn't articulated well but i know what a doctorate is i just don't think anyone should be able to earn one that isn't medicine related

by EconomyPlantain 4 hours ago

I've read quite a few times the title doctor relating to medics is honorary unlike the phds who have earned it through research.

by diannabotsford 4 hours ago

I take it you don't know what a Doctorate is?

by Anonymous 4 hours ago

What do you think the D stands for in Ph.D

by Beginning_Sundae_909 4 hours ago

bro definitely didn't go to college

by Anonymous 3 hours ago

yeah it's ridiculous lmao one of my english professors last semester calls himself "DR" and doesn't have the slightest clue about medicine

by EconomyPlantain 3 hours ago

bro being a doctor means you have a doctorate, your dentist just has a doctorate in dentistry instead of anything to do with research. MD vs Ph.D

by Anonymous 2 hours ago

So your argument is because you understand doctor as meaning one thing everyone should conform to your personal understanding of what a doctor is instead of the actual title being given to people who…get doctorate degrees? 😂

by Anonymous 2 hours ago

yeah pretty much… only medical professionals should receive doctorates

by EconomyPlantain 2 hours ago

You don't know what a doctor is. You know what a medical doctor is.

by Thielrachelle 1 hour ago

a doctorate in art or english shouldn't be the same title as a MD….

by EconomyPlantain 1 hour ago

It's not. It's PhD instead of MD

by Double_Friendship_35 1 hour ago

md is the suffix if you didn't know??? DR is the prefix and i've never had anyone introduce themself as dr so and so phd or even MD or DO its just plain DR

by EconomyPlantain 55 minutes ago

Agreed. Let's make the medicine people change their title to "Medic". "Hi, I have a 3pm appointment with Medic Jones." /s

by Pearline06 30 minutes ago

lmao i've seen worse ideas

by EconomyPlantain 11 minutes ago