Calling yourself "Doctor" as a premed or med student...bad karma?

[leftmid]

Calling yourself "Doctor" as a premed or med student is definitely a bad bad karma... unless you are in one of the suspicious, strange or suspect doctor network forums, of course.

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[PharmDFisher]

Not to quote a movie but I think some of you people who are anoyed by this should watch patch adams. Really doctor is another way of saying teacher or helper... so in that aspect everyone can be a doctor some way without having an Md, phd, jd, pharmd...really anything, the poorest or richest person in the world can be a doctor... its not what you have its what you do.

 

[GatorPhD]

Not to quote a movie but I think some of you people who are anoyed by this should watch patch adams. Really doctor is another way of saying teacher or helper... so in that aspect everyone can be a doctor some way without having an Md, phd, jd, pharmd...really anything, the poorest or richest person in the world can be a doctor... its not what you have its what you do.

👎

Yeah.....I don't think so. It isn't fair to take away the title that so many people work so hard for to make others feel better about themselves.

Not that those who have the title Dr. have to shove it in people's faces, but it isn't fair to dumb it down to mean nothing. It lowers the morale of those who actually worked for it. A prime example was in 2001 when the Army Chief of Staff Gen. Shinseki approved everyone in the Army to wear the black beret reserved exclusively for Army Rangers. This was some poorly thought plan to boost the morale of the non-Ranger troops and just ended up pissing off the entire Ranger corps. They responded by changing to the tan beret.

There isn't anything wrong with standing out as an achiever.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

As an M4, there is one time when I absolutely refer to myself as "Dr. Blaine" w/o a hint of guilt. When you make calls on behalf of your service (to another hospital for instance) the worst thing you can possibly do is say "my name is Amory, I'm a medical student at ..." Just lead straight away with "this is Dr. Blaine calling from ..."

One of my residents actually ordered me to to do this.

 

[whoisthedrizzle]

no, this thread in no way deserved bumping...

x2

 

[brianmartin]

What? No option for "I don't give a crap"?

 

[dideoxy]

I'm not too bothered personally by it, but I do worry about people who do such things because I think it may sometimes speak to their motivations. Wanting the title so badly isn't really a positive sign, and the physicians that I've found to be the most genuine, approachable, and good at the bedside are often the ones who strip all the prestige from the career (ie, no white coat, stethoscope-round-neck, and they want to be referred to by their first name). To them, it's not about the "Dr.", it's about the patient.

 

[Oceaner]

Nah, it's cool.👍

-Oceaner MD, PhD, MPH, MASc, MSC, B.A.SC., DCO, CBE, DCO, OS, CC, CMM, COM, CD, DUniv, DLitt, LLD

 

[PharmDFisher]

👎

Yeah.....I don't think so. It isn't fair to take away the title that so many people work so hard for to make others feel better about themselves.

Not that those who have the title Dr. have to shove it in people's faces, but it isn't fair to dumb it down to mean nothing. It lowers the morale of those who actually worked for it. A prime example was in 2001 when the Army Chief of Staff Gen. Shinseki approved everyone in the Army to wear the black beret reserved exclusively for Army Rangers. This was some poorly thought plan to boost the morale of the non-Ranger troops and just ended up pissing off the entire Ranger corps. They responded by changing to the tan beret.

There isn't anything wrong with standing out as an achiever.

Stupid example... who gives a crap about a hat that takes six weeks to get... hell if i was the people in the army i would opt for the third option of not having to wear a beret at all... the army rangers have special symbols on their jackets anyways...but thats beside the point... idk, seems to me that too many people care what people call them... call me a call me b it doesnt change me

 

[brewmeistervi]

I don't even say "I want to be a doctor". I keep it at "I am aiming for medical school" ....then the questions tend to fire off about that crap and somehow I miraculously know what their rash or shoulder pain is about.

Lately I just tell people I am in school... when they ask what for, I then say " medicine " ... not "I am in medical school" or " I am going to be a doctor" ... I guess this is because I don't want to feel like a med student in social situations... I just want to palpate people when the time is right 😀

 

[smq123]

As an M4, there is one time when I absolutely refer to myself as "Dr. Blaine" w/o a hint of guilt. When you make calls on behalf of your service (to another hospital for instance) the worst thing you can possibly do is say "my name is Amory, I'm a medical student at ..." Just lead straight away with "this is Dr. Blaine calling from ..."

One of my residents actually ordered me to to do this.

One of the attendings told somebody on my team to do the same thing. We were on a psych floor, calling down for a (gulp) ortho consult. As the attending said, "It's the only way we'll even have a fighting chance that they'll come here. So sound authoritative and call yourself 'doctor.'"

 

[inaminute]

when you're a silly premed it's juvenile, dorky, and arrogant to call yourself "doctor." Fortunately, this practice provides its own quiet punishment: you are humiliating yourself and exhibiting your poser self and you probably are too dumb to even realize it. Can you say "laughingstock"?

 

[marble30]

.

 

[orthomyxo]

Calling yourself doctor when you aren't one is a total disrespect to all of the people who worked their asses off to become physicians. I think it's slightly more acceptable if med students do it, but I'd like to meet some premeds that say it so I can personally punch them in the nose. Damn tools...

EDIT: Well I just saw how old this thread is. WTF marble30....resurrecting a 2 year old thread (-_-)

 

[runawayclock]

Old thread is old. But it does tickle me to hear first year science students call themselves doctors as premeds... only to see them switch into managment or arts the next semester.

 

[NickNaylor]

If you call yourself a doctor when you're not, you're a tool. There's no arguing about it.

 

[JonathanMD]

It's just a screen name.

If this were a ninja enthusiast forum, there would be a lot of ninja screen names. It doesn't mean they think they're ninjas.

I added the "MD" not because it was a joke and I don't go around calling myself "doctor." "Jonathan" was taken, so I added the MD.

 

[JonathanMD]

As an M4, there is one time when I absolutely refer to myself as "Dr. Blaine" w/o a hint of guilt. When you make calls on behalf of your service (to another hospital for instance) the worst thing you can possibly do is say "my name is Amory, I'm a medical student at ..." Just lead straight away with "this is Dr. Blaine calling from ..."

One of my residents actually ordered me to to do this.

That's interesting, but I guess it makes sense if you want to speed things up.

 

[familyaerospace]

What I think is funny is that my GP referred to me as a doctor without knowing I was considering going premed. I also had an undergraduate advisor call me Doctor and I am convinced he jinxed me.

 

[mnoon1]

EDIT: Well I just saw how old this thread is. WTF marble30....resurrecting a 2 year old thread (-_-)

 

[futureboy]

It's just a screen name.

If this were a ninja enthusiast forum, there would be a lot of ninja screen names. It doesn't mean they think they're ninjas.

I added the "MD" not because it was a joke and I don't go around calling myself "doctor." "Jonathan" was taken, so I added the MD.

IMO, it's perfectly fine to use Dr or MD in an SDN screen name. It just means the person aspires to be a doctor. In other settings, it's a different story.

 

[BigRedBeta]

None of the answers in the poll are appropriate.

The fact of the matter is, this is not about karma. It's about ethical behavior and professionalism. Representing yourself truthfully is important.

Pre-meds should plainly state they are volunteers or observers when in patient care situations. Medical students should state their year of schooling and that they will be taking part in patient's care, but clearly stating they are only part of the team.

 

[Poliscidoc]

Dumb poll and question!

Thanks,
Poliscidoc

 

[SultanMD]

I find it strange that some people are "annoyed" by people with "Dr" or "MD" in their user name. Who cares? Its just an internet forum. Jeez. People can make their name whatever they want. Its not like they actually put those things next to their name in real life. Whats the big deal? Chill out.

P.S. The "MD" in my user name stands for MunDane 😀

👍

I'm so far away from being a doctor and even then I would prefer to be called by first name if possible, and yes "MD" in a username does not necessarily mean "medical doctor." Frankly, I care less if it annoys anyone.