Stupid capitalization question

stw2361 said:

So it has been a long time since my last English course, and I am having a hard time remembering what to capitalize in my personal statement and what to leave lower-case.

Do you capitalize Emergency Medicine, and Emergency Medicine Physician? My gut feeling is no, but I just wanted to run it by some other people in the same boat.

Thanks in advance!
-Scott, MS4

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Professional custom might go the other direction, but Strunk & White say no.

Emergency Medicine physician

aphistis said:

Professional custom might go the other direction, but Strunk & White say no.

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Exactly. Chicago and AP manuals of style concur, but some people think that inappropriate capitalization somehow bestows an aura of importance that outshines their ignorance of grammar.

In this case, it is probably best to ere on the side of grandiosity. As Veers suggested, "Emergency Medicine physician" is probably safe.

Agreed. Also, for whatever reason it seems that more recently, the Problem of Inappropriate Capitalization has become a Very Big Deal Indeed... and it's definitely annoying. (Really, what it reminds me of is the Winnie-The-Pooh books.)

I say "Emergency Medicine" is a field, and I guess the custom of the context would say you capitalize it, the way you'd capitalize "Medicine" to refer to the study and pursuit of the healing arts and sciences, as opposed to the stuff you keep in a little orange plastic bottle. But capitalizing "Physician" is treading on that ground where things are being taken a little too seriously.

Febrifuge said:

Agreed. Also, for whatever reason it seems that more recently, the Problem of Inappropriate Capitalization has become a Very Big Deal Indeed... and it's definitely annoying. (Really, what it reminds me of is the Winnie-The-Pooh books.)

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So right! I wish I had a bumper sticker that said something like, "I Condemn random Acts of capitalization," but my husband says I'm the only one who'd think it's funny.

Febrifuge said:

I say "Emergency Medicine" is a field, and I guess the custom of the context would say you capitalize it, the way you'd capitalize "Medicine" to refer to the study and pursuit of the healing arts and sciences, as opposed to the stuff you keep in a little orange plastic bottle. But capitalizing "Physician" is treading on that ground where things are being taken a little too seriously.

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I actually wouldn't capitalize "medicine" or "emergency medicine," as disciplines aren't capitalized unless they involve a proper noun (e.g., French literature). (Sorry, ex-editor getting carried away here ...)

VienneseWaltz said:

So right! I wish I had a bumper sticker that said something like, "I Condemn random Acts of capitalization," but my husband says I'm the only one who'd think it's funny.

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Nope, I'm with you. Sign me Up!

Take care,
Jeff

Jeff698 said:

Nope, I'm with you. Sign me Up!

Take care,
Jeff

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I'm convinced that proper English grammar and spelling is not taught in schools anymore. Even on this relatively learned (it's pronounced learn-ed) forum, I see atrocious spelling and grammatical errors all the time.

VienneseWaltz said:

I actually wouldn't capitalize "medicine" or "emergency medicine," as disciplines aren't capitalized unless they involve a proper noun (e.g., French literature). (Sorry, ex-editor getting carried away here ...)

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Hey, nothing to apologize for. And I agree with you, I simply wonder if the larger part of the emergency medicine community sees it that way, or if specialties are considered proper-noun-worthy the way countries are.

Febrifuge said:

Hey, nothing to apologize for. And I agree with you, I simply wonder if the larger part of the emergency medicine community sees it that way, or if specialties are considered proper-noun-worthy the way countries are.

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The capitalizations that bug me the most are the third-person prounouns in Christianity when referring to deities. The words "His" and "Him" should never be capitalized except at the beginning of a sentence.

GeneralVeers said:

The capitalizations that bug me the most are the third-person prounouns in Christianity when referring to deities. The words "His" and "Him" should never be capitalized except at the beginning of a sentence.

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*bzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

Webster's Dictionary & Thesaurus Handbook of Style, headings #28 & 29.

Jeff698 said:

Nope, I'm with you. Sign me Up!

Take care,
Jeff

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My husband thought it would be seen as a political/economic statement, but then again, he's in business school.

If I ever print some up, I'll send you one.