Call a pharmacist "Dr. (last name"?

[dreaminofpharmd]

I was just wondering what's the conventional way of referring to a pharmacist? Are you supposed to call them Dr. so and so?
Thanks!

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[KarmRx]

Where I work we do, but really just for fun... I have never heard any of the pharmacists introduce themselves in that manner

 

[imperial frog]

I prefer to be called "Your Majesty".

 

[rivatnt]

Is Dr. Dre an MD? No. But he's still a doctor.... Jk.

 

[imperial frog]

Actually, he got his degree from BYU but never completed his residency. Despite that he still has earned his Dr. title.

 

[sarahjth]

I prefer to be called "Your Magesty".

Me too.. or Princess Sarah.. whichever you prefer!

 

[bdl1411]

I'm going to make my whole family call me a Dr....and everyone I meet....I'll just be like I'm Dr. Jorhe..and they'll have to call me that....I hope....minus the Jorhe part.

 

[Serenity Now!!!]

Me too.. or Princess Sarah.. whichever you prefer!

Once I was speaking with a pharmacist-friend of my dad and out of respect i decided to refer to him as "Dr." So and so. He just shook his head and laughed. He said, " just call me by my first name" Anyone who feels that they should be called by a title like Dr. is a pretentious a$$$! Out of respect you might initially address them as such but the curteous thing to do would then be for the person to drop the pretense as soon as possible

Okay, If youre an officer in the military, then thats cool too...you earned it. but being addressed/not addressed as Dr. has no bearing on you as a person or as a skilled professional

 

[imperial frog]

So you're saying my requiring people to address me as Your Majesty is too much?

 

[Serenity Now!!!]

So you're saying my requiring people to address me as Your Magesty is too much?

just a tad

 

[DownonthePharm]

Call me whatever, just dont call me late for dinner....

 

[Serenity Now!!!]

Call me whatever, just dont call me late for dinner....

Or call me collect...ha ha its CORNY I know

 

[HABANERO4ME]

Im cool with whatever, just dont crank call me and call me in the middle of the night and ask me to cover for you.. hehehe. I think, the title Dr. is more appropriate in the academia setting and for physician. Dentist is a dentist not dr..so and so.dds, chiropractor = chiropractist, the -ist is there for a reason right? this professional is for specialist..

 

[gmohamma]

Im cool with whatever, just dont crank call me and call me in the middle of the night and ask me to cover for you.. hehehe. I think, the title Dr. is more appropriate in the academia setting and for physician. Dentist is a dentist not dr..so and so.dds, chiropractor = chiropractist, the -ist is there for a reason right? this professional is for specialist..

uhhhhh ... a dentist is a doctor .. DDS = DOCTOR of dental surgery and so is a pharmacist.. PharmD = DOCTOR of Pharmacy.. we are afterall getting our doctorate..

why shouldnt we be called dr.'s?

 

[HABANERO4ME]

uhhhhh ... a dentist is a doctor .. DDS = DOCTOR of dental surgery and so is a pharmacist.. PharmD = DOCTOR of Pharmacy.. we are afterall getting our doctorate..

why shouldnt we be called dr.'s?

If that is your sole purpose of getting your Pharm .D is to be call Dr. then good luck.

 

[Serenity Now!!!]

I think, the title Dr. is more appropriate in the academia setting and for physician.

To me even calling a physician 'Dr' should be optional b/c its one of the reasons why people have a problem calling other phD earners Doctor. I guess its confusing to them or something The term "Dr." has nothing to do with medicine, its an academic title to acknowledge the person attaining a given education level (MD = doctor of Medicine/ DO= Doctor of Osteopathy/ phD= doc. of philosophy etc.). So either all Doc. candidates, regardless of discipline should be called Dr. or it should be optional....(yeah right, but it was worth a shot)

 

[imperial frog]

If that is your sole purpose of getting your Pharm .D is to be call Dr. then good luck.

Yeah...I see how you got that it was the sole reason for gmohama getting a PharmD out of that. It was crystal clear.

 

[BME103]

why shouldnt we be called dr.'s?

Why should the public refer to us as "doctors" when we don't even call ourselves that? Let's be realistic.

 

[HABANERO4ME]

Why should the public refer to us as "doctors" when we don't even call ourselves that? Let's be realistic.

Amen!..

 

[gmohamma]

Why should the public refer to us as "doctors" when we don't even call ourselves that? Let's be realistic.

you can call urself a ***** for all i care, im sure there are pharmacists out there who would like being called Dr.

my point was that dentists and pharmacists are doctors, so to play devil's advocate, why shouldnt they be called that?

i never said, yes they must be called that.. just asking a question

and i never said i was getting my pharmD to be called Dr.

it's amazing how dumb some people on sdn are.

 

[Serenity Now!!!]

Amen!...can I get a witness?....

 

[sarahjth]

well, no one has to call me a doctor.. or princess.. or majesty.. but if they want to.. I encourage it! Oh and when I do get my doctorate, I'm def. going to invest in labels that read Dr. Sarah **. ****. I am going to school for 8-9 years, lordly, I can have fun with it!

Lighten up, we're all going to have our doctorate's.. we can all have a good time without being snobby!

 

[BME103]

you can call urself a ***** for all i care, im sure there are pharmacists out there who would like being called Dr.

You seriously need to calm down a bit. I don't refer pharmacists as doctors because we don't need a doctor level education to do what we are doing. We barely even use our knowledge. That is the honest truth. Can you handle it?

 

[Serenity Now!!!]

I don't refer pharmacists as doctors because we don't need a doctor level education to do what we are doing. That is the honest truth. Can you handle it?

Oh boy, you.. done.. did ..it now!!

A pox on thee!! you cretinous, uncouth cad!! take back those slanderous and unfounded accusations or suffer the wrath of this forum

 

[BME103]

Oh boy, you.. done.. did ..it now!!

A pox on thee!! you cretinous, uncouth cad!! take back those slanderous and unfounded accusations or suffer the wrath of this forum

Don't shoot the messenger.

 

[mRNA]

When I worked at a retail pharmacy, people would ask for the pharmacist, and then she would introduce herself by her first name and that's what people called her. She seemed to be ok with that. I think that would have been fine with me too.

 

[Serenity Now!!!]

Don't shoot the messenger.

Only if they have the wrong message, which you do...Do more research.

 

[BME103]

Only if they have the wrong message, which you do...Do more research.

OK, go ahead. Please explain your position.

 

[dgroulx]

For each of my rotations, I have callled my preceptor Dr. xxx. When they tell me to call them by their first name, then I do that. I prefer to show them respect first, then let them make the call on how they wish to be addressed.

 

[insipid1979]

OK, go ahead. Please explain your position.

Shouldn't you be the one explaining your position?

 

[Serenity Now!!!]

OK, go ahead. Please explain your position.

You said that b/c pharmacists dont have a doctoral level of education; they shouldnt be called Dr's. Thats incorrect since they are doctors of pharmacy. This term 'doctor' is not an arbitrary term. As I said earlier, it refers to a person who has earned the highest academic degree awarded by a college or university in a specified discipline. Pharmacy is a discipline and a pharmacist will be an expert in this field.

I stated that 'doctor' is not a medical term but more of an academic one, so the habit of most people to call MD's or DO's as doctors and be hesitant to refer to other doc. candidates the same way is misguided.

Its also very misguided to assume that pharmacicsts barely use their knowledge...where did you get that 'fact'?

 

[BME103]

You said that b/c pharmacists dont have a doctoral level of education; they shouldnt be called Dr's. Thats incorrect since they are doctors of pharmacy...

Its also very misguided to assume that pharmacicsts barely use their knowledge...where did you get that 'fact'?

I think you misunderstood my previous post. I stated that you don't need a doctoral level of education to work as a pharmacist. If you don't believe me, work at a pharmacy. I don't think we should expect the public to call us "doctor" when we don't even refer each other as "doctor".

Only pre pharmacy students believe all of this crap about patient care. Most of the things you learn in pharmacy school do not apply to the real world. It has not changed much in the last 40 years and I doubt it will change soon.

 

[sarahjth]

ok, ok.. I know there are a lot of R. Phs running around in pharmacies but Pharm Ds are now entering the mix too. At the pharmacy I have subbed at, the older doctors have name tags that say Josh Smith, R. Ph and the younger doctors have tags that say Dr. Josh Smith, Pharm. D. (that's a phoney name, btw)

 

[Serenity Now!!!]

I think you misunderstood my previous post. I stated that you don't need a doctoral level of education to work as a pharmacist. If you don't believe me, work at a pharmacy. I don't think we should expect the public to call us "doctor" when we don't even refer each other as "doctor".

Only pre pharmacy students believe all of this crap about patient care. Most of the things you learn in pharmacy school do not apply to the real world. It has not changed much in the last 40 years and I doubt it will change soon.

I DO work in a pharmacy and also volunteer at a hospital pharmacy so I do know for a fact that pharmacists earn their pay. If all you know is retail pharmacy you might think that what they learn does not apply to the 'real world', but take a good look at the other branches of pharmacy...this is beginning to sound like a cheesy ad for pharmacy so i'll stop. im surprized no one else hasnt commented on this.

Its true that pharmacists dont refer to each other as Dr. but it shouldnt be mandatory or expected to call MD's and DO's as such either. Dont get me wrong I understand and respect your POV. I just think that its not the whole story

 

[twester]

I took an extensive poll of the two MDs that I know to see if they call their colleagues Dr So-and-So at work. One hundred percent said, "No." They call each other by their first names. I asked if they call their immediate supervisors Dr. Smarty Pants (these are made up names BTW), they said "Yes, but only when in the presence of a patient and we address each other as doctor."

I've seen the same thing in academia. I call a group of former profs Dr. Dextro, Dr. Titrate and Dr. Nematode at school. When we go out for some beers on occasion (hey, they're former profs and I'm old), I call them Tom, Dick and Candy.

I've probably said this before, but I'd just rather be called Troy. I hate it when people call me Mr. Nincompoop and Sir makes my skin crawl. I will, however, demand that my mother call me Dr. Troy - but that's just because she deserves it.

Oh, and in yet another opinion, Dr. Troy Nincompoop, PharmD is redundant. I've only ever seen First Last, PharmD in literature and faculty listings. I suspect that's what I'll have put on my name tags once I graduate in a little less than half a decade.

 

[buddyluv]

I know a Pharmacist that has his credentials on his check.
It goes like this

Dr. John Doe Pharm.D
123 Any Town
City State.

So this guy for whatever reason visited the Pharmacy I work to pick up a prescription (why he did not fill it where he works beats my mind--cos he works in retail too).

Anyway, when I was calling him to ring him up, I called over the microphone Mr. John Doe your prescription is ready for pick up. He walks up to the pharmacy and he goes --it is DR. JOHN DOE. I'm like excuse me, he repeats My name is (emphasis -DR. JOHN DOE. I am a Pharm.D if you must know) I'm like OK. Then he hand me his check for payment and Bingo Pharm.D is printed very bold .....

So you see calling some of them Dr. errrrr means a lot.

 

[imperial frog]

And in a recent study I just made up, 4 out of 5 pharmacist's refer to themselves as Dr. Love when trying to lay the moves down during on-line dating.

 

[sarahjth]

I know a Pharmacist that has his credentials on his check.
It goes like this

Dr. John Doe Pharm.D
123 Any Town
City State.

So this guy for whatever reason visited the Pharmacy I work to pick up a prescription (why he did not fill it where he works beats my mind--cos he works in retail too).

Anyway, when I was calling him to ring him up, I called over the microphone Mr. John Doe your prescription is ready for pick up. He walks up to the pharmacy and he goes --it is DR. JOHN DOE. I'm like excuse me, he repeats My name is (emphasis -DR. JOHN DOE. I am a Pharm.D if you must know) I'm like OK. Then he hand me his check for payment and Bingo Pharm.D is printed very bold .....

So you see calling some of them Dr. errrrr means a lot.

Strangely enough my HS principal went from Mr. to Dr. my sophomore year and if you didn't call him Dr.. he would pull crap like that!

 

[Baxter81]

I call myself a doctor because I gots a ph.D in playa hatin son

 

[UN4GETTABLE]

What about lawyers? They, too have a "doctorate" degree and do not refer to themselves as doctors. They earn a J.D. (Juris Dotorate) and I've NEVER heard of a Judge or attorney preferring to be called Dr. and aren't they the most pompous and pretentious people out there?

To certain people I WILL introduce myself as Dr. to other I won't.

 

[Sosumi]

I think you misunderstood my previous post. I stated that you don't need a doctoral level of education to work as a pharmacist. If you don't believe me, work at a pharmacy. I don't think we should expect the public to call us "doctor" when we don't even refer each other as "doctor".

Only pre pharmacy students believe all of this crap about patient care. Most of the things you learn in pharmacy school do not apply to the real world. It has not changed much in the last 40 years and I doubt it will change soon.

Okay I'll bite. If all you know is retail pharmacy with pharmacists who just check prescriptions all day and manage inventory then yeah, you don't really need a doctor of pharmacy degree. I've worked with many pharmacists and even preceptors who are like this. However, if you actually try to apply what you learn in 4 years of pharmacy school and attempt to make formulary susbstitutions, interaction interventions, counsel patients on their medications, triage and counsel OTC advice and TALK to patients about their conditions and medications then that might be a different story. If it weren't for my weekend job where I work with a population that really rely on their pharmacist for their information and healthcare, I would agree with you.

In my opinion, these people who are content to just check prescriptions and do nothing else are doing a disservice to the profession. With the pharmacist shortage and corporate offices wanting to find ways of cutting costs, don't you think eventually they'll catch on and try to have midlevels legally do the same thing at a much lower salary?

Believe it or not, pharmacy has come a long way in 40 years. Talk to pharmacists who received their BSP then eventually their Pharm.D. or read sdn1977's posts. Sometimes you just need to change the public perception of pharmacists one person at a time.

Have you ever worked in a hospital? More and more of them are including clinical pharmacists as well as clinical services in their hospital. I work Sundays at mid-sized one that is not a university hospital yet employs 6 fulltime clinical pharmacists who work 100% clinical services. The VA hospitals also offer many more opportunities for clinic management. Some retail settings are offering clinical services as some Medicare Part D plans are attempting to reimburse for these services.

I don't want to sound like it's a bed of roses as our administrators and some professors would like pre-pharm students to think because I sometimes feel like you do. I also had the same preconception of pharmacists too before I considered it a career. However, I've seen first hand on numerous occasions how impressed people are about your knowledge once you actually apply what you learned in school counseling, making interventions, and talking with other health professionals and students and patients. Believe it or not, you can make a difference, however small or large it can be, if you change your attitude. Your job satisfaction will probably improve too.

 

[sarahjth]

Okay I'll bite. If all you know is retail pharmacy with pharmacists who just check prescriptions all day and manage inventory then yeah, you don't really need a doctor of pharmacy degree. I've worked with many pharmacists and even preceptors who are like this. However, if you actually try to apply what you learn in 4 years of pharmacy school and attempt to make formulary susbstitutions, interaction interventions, counsel patients on their medications, triage and counsel OTC advice and TALK to patients about their conditions and medications then that might be a different story. If it weren't for my weekend job where I work with a population that really rely on their pharmacist for their information and healthcare, I would agree with you.

In my opinion, these people who are content to just check prescriptions and do nothing else are doing a disservice to the profession. With the pharmacist shortage and corporate offices wanting to find ways of cutting costs, don't you think eventually they'll catch on and try to have midlevels legally do the same thing at a much lower salary?

Believe it or not, pharmacy has come a long way in 40 years. Talk to pharmacists who received their BSP then eventually their Pharm.D. or read sdn1977's posts. Sometimes you just need to change the public perception of pharmacists one person at a time.

Have you ever worked in a hospital? More and more of them are including clinical pharmacists as well as clinical services in their hospital. I work Sundays at mid-sized one that is not a university hospital yet employs 6 fulltime clinical pharmacists who work 100% clinical services. The VA hospitals also offer many more opportunities for clinic management. Some retail settings are offering clinical services as some Medicare Part D plans are attempting to reimburse for these services.

I don't want to sound like it's a bed of roses as our administrators and some professors would like pre-pharm students to think because I sometimes feel like you do. I also had the same preconception of pharmacists too before I considered it a career. However, I've seen first hand on numerous occasions how impressed people are about your knowledge once you actually apply what you learned in school counseling, making interventions, and talking with other health professionals and students and patients. Believe it or not, you can make a difference, however small or large it can be, if you change your attitude. Your job satisfaction will probably improve too.

 

[BME103]

However, if you actually try to apply what you learn in 4 years of pharmacy school and attempt to make formulary susbstitutions, interaction interventions, counsel patients on their medications, triage and counsel OTC advice and TALK to patients about their conditions and medications then that might be a different story.

That sounds really nice but seriously, do you have time to do all of those things? You may not know this, but pharmacists still spend the vast majority of their time dispensing. That is a fact. Even pharmacists that work in the hospital. It is not because pharmacists only want to dispense but they really don't have a choose. Also, most of the jobs are still in the retails. That is another fact.

 

[Mongoos150]

I agree. PharmDs that are content dispensing in retail and spend time speaking with patients about their health is most certainly NOT a disservice to the profession.

 

[kwizard]

You seriously need to calm down a bit. I don't refer pharmacists as doctors because we don't need a doctor level education to do what we are doing. We barely even use our knowledge. That is the honest truth. Can you handle it?

I understand what you are trying to say; however, I suppose it depends more on what you decide on doing w/ your degree and applying that knowledge. Obviously those in academia and hospital settings may be more pressed to be recognized for there credentials, but the knowledge base in all settings is dependent on your ability to apply the knowledge learned in school and other means of training to everyday practice. I honestly don't feel it necessary to have people refer to me as "Dr." unless I'm giving a formal persentation or something of that nature. Once you work in a setting w/ many different clinicians everybody (including MDs) refer to each other on first name basis anyway once everybody is comfortable w/ each other and they respect your opinion/duties as a clinician. When being introduced to a pt I'm find w/ just being called a pharmacist.

At the end of the day it is a doctorate degree. Whether you apply that knowledge or not (regardless of the setting) is up to the individual.

 

[insipid1979]

That sounds really nice but seriously, do you have time to do all of those things? You may not know this, but pharmacists still spend the vast majority of their time dispensing. That is a fact. Even pharmacists that work in the hospital. It is not because pharmacists only want to dispense but they really don't have a choose. Also, most of the jobs are still in the retails. That is another fact.

As far as I understand...clinical pharmacists don't dispense all day in the pharmacy. That is for pharmacists working in the hospital.

 

[BME103]

^^You are talking about the 1-2% of the profession.

 

[Sosumi]

That sounds really nice but seriously, do you have time to do all of those things? You may not know this, but pharmacists still spend the vast majority of their time dispensing. That is a fact. Even pharmacists that work in the hospital. It is not because pharmacists only want to dispense but they really don't have a choose. Also, most of the jobs are still in the retails. That is another fact.

Obviously most of your function as a dispensing pharmacist in retail setting will be spent dispensing. It's the primary current reason for the existence of pharmacists and don't get me wrong, a very important process to ensure that the medication is dispensed correctly and safely.

However, there are many pharmacists including one of my preceptors at Wal-Mart, who is the manager there, just flat out said he never counsels because "he doesn't have any time". Yet he somehow has time to hop on bubble wrap... I have worked in many pharmacies that are far busier. There are pharmacists that despite how busy it gets, do spend time with their patients who really appreciate their consultation and ability to go the extra mile for them. And yet he was able to fill over 130 prescriptions/day all by himself. I also try to go the extra to verify prescriptions, suggest formulary substitutions, ring customers up and counsel on new prescriptions, counsel on OTC meds etc. Granted it's much easier to all of these things when you're not backed up and your technicians haven't called out, yet we still manage to try to talk to patients while filling their prescription in 30 minutes -- it's all about organization and keeping a calm professional demeanor. I remember when all of our technicians called out on Monday, and I had to come in to help out our pharmacist for a few hours but she still took the time to help counsel a patient on her home blood glucose monitor.

In the hospital setting, all of our staff pharmacists spend at least 1 day a week dosing antibiotics and once a month give inservices to staff concerning medications. We have a pretty low turnover rate because the staff pharmacists have a lot more variability in their work and thus not understaffed.

I have experience in both settings via work and rotations so I know how busy both can get. (Rite-Aid does not like giving you technician help!) That shouldn't preclude you from trying to make the most of your education by recognizing interactions, inappropriate dosing or indications, counseling patients when appropriate, or other functions.

 

[insipid1979]

^^You are talking about the 1-2% of the profession.

ok...
and?


Read what the person you were quoting was saying in the post that i quoted you (that is confusing).

 

[imperial frog]

However, there are many pharmacists including one of my preceptors at Wal-Mart, who is the manager there, just flat out said he never counsels because "he doesn't have any time". Yet he somehow has time to hop on bubble wrap...

I'm planning on taking Bubble Wrap Dynamics 101 as an elective next year.