Dr. versus Who Cares
A friend of mine is a professor of English at John Carroll University here in Cleveland. We often sit at a local watering hole and discuss a number of subjects. Granted, I never had him as a professor. Hell, I never went to JCU. So, we got into this conversation about the appropriate way to address a professor. He has a doctorate, so I asked him if he liked to be called "Doctor". He emphatically replied "No."
So, I asked him, "What do you like to be called, "X"?
He answered, "I'll answer to 'Hey, you!' at this point, but not 'Doctor.' 'Doctor' is someone who goes to medical school......"
So, it got me thinking. I hated my professors who wanted me to called them Doctor this and Doctor that, as if they were high and mighty. Doctor should be a name reserved for those , for the most part, have Medical degrees.
Look, lawyers have Jurist Doctorates, but we don't address them as doctorates. Many other people have Ph.D.'s, but we don't even address them as Doctor. It's ridiculous. My friends who are truly doctors have been in medical school for a million years. They didn't work that hard to earn that title to be equated -- by title -- with some Professor who, quite frankly, is good enough for academia, but not for the real world (as was the case with many of my journalism professors).
So, who cares about someone who went to school for a few years to earn a doctorate versus my friends who worked their tails off for years to truly earn the title and respect that comes along with 'Doctor'.
So, I asked him, "What do you like to be called, "X"?
He answered, "I'll answer to 'Hey, you!' at this point, but not 'Doctor.' 'Doctor' is someone who goes to medical school......"
So, it got me thinking. I hated my professors who wanted me to called them Doctor this and Doctor that, as if they were high and mighty. Doctor should be a name reserved for those , for the most part, have Medical degrees.
Look, lawyers have Jurist Doctorates, but we don't address them as doctorates. Many other people have Ph.D.'s, but we don't even address them as Doctor. It's ridiculous. My friends who are truly doctors have been in medical school for a million years. They didn't work that hard to earn that title to be equated -- by title -- with some Professor who, quite frankly, is good enough for academia, but not for the real world (as was the case with many of my journalism professors).
So, who cares about someone who went to school for a few years to earn a doctorate versus my friends who worked their tails off for years to truly earn the title and respect that comes along with 'Doctor'.
I know,,commenting on something written so long ago is weird but I am catching up and learning about you. Anyway, I work with doctors for a living. I have found that MD doctors introduce themselves as "mike" or "steve" or whomever. Dentists, Professors, Psychologists etc always introduce themselves as "dr so and so" Just shows their insecurity as far as I am concerned
Posted by
Christine |
9:00 PM