Is the term "student doctor" appropriate for a medical student?

[rodmichael82]

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I've had a couple folks in my class call themselves student doctors and it really bothers me. Technically wouldn't a student doctor be an Intern or Resident?
How can a medical student be a student doctor especially a first year? It makes no sense to me.

 

[badasshairday]

I've had a couple folks in my class call themselves student doctors and it really bothers me. Technically wouldn't a student doctor be an Intern or Resident?
How can a medical student be a student doctor especially a first year? It makes no sense to me.

Student doctor is appropriate.

Once you are done with medical school you are a doctor.

 

[Anon212]

That's what all my attendings called me, so I'd say it's fine. Apparently some people find that less confusing than "medical student"/ not all patients understand what a med student is, so some people prefer to use that term.

 

[colbgw02]

Yes.

 

[b-real]

Seems I have the dissenting opinion, but I agree with the OP. Medical student seems more appropriate than student doctor. Patients may take that to mean doctor-in-training, which a student is not.

 

[cowme]

Also agree with OP, mainly because patients usually don't understand that student doctor = medical student

 

[Textbookversion]

I've had a couple folks in my class call themselves student doctors and it really bothers me. Technically wouldn't a student doctor be an Intern or Resident?
How can a medical student be a student doctor especially a first year? It makes no sense to me.

I prefer the term medical student but we are trained to use the term student doctor and all of the faculty coach us to use student doctor.

It is supposed to make patients happier. Just like the Mayo suit thing, the patients feel like they get better care when you say "student doctor" on rotations. Is it misleading? Ehh probably. Makes the school happy though.

An intern or resident would be a doctor. Don't ever call yourself a "student doctor" as a resident. Similar reasons as to why medical students are encouraged to use "student doctor." It's all about ramping up that placebo effect and making the patient feel confident in the care they are getting.

 

[FSU2013]

I've had plenty of attendings introduce me as "student doctor." I've always felt uncomfortable with the term, but never said anything. I think it's a little misleading to patients, but heck, nurses are introducing themselves as doctor, so what's the point.......

 

[kwel]

it's not misleading in the same way "student teacher" isn't misleading.

 

[rodmichael82]

it's not misleading in the same way "student teacher" isn't misleading.

I have no idea wtf a student teacher is sorry.

 

[Suncrusher]

A lot of people don't even understand that being a 'medical student' means you will be a doctor when you graduate. About half the time when I go on a date and they (unfortunately) find out that I'm a medical student, their follow-up question is "So are you going to medical school for nursing? PA? What?" At least the phrase 'student doctor' describes what we are more specifically. I vastly prefer to be called a medical student myself, but I wanted to point out that either term can be confusing to patients.

 

[VisionaryTics]

I refer to myself as medical student, but I often hear residents/attendings refer to me as "Student Doctor VisionaryTics" either in front of a patient or while operating.

 

[colbgw02]

I have no idea wtf a student teacher is sorry.

Seriously? It even has its own wikipedia page.

Whether or not the patient understands your role is not an acceptable standard of how to describe oneself. To wit, as an MS3, I've had patients think I was just fine as long as I was "not an intern".

Patients misunderstand what we say all the time. Again, that is not an appropriate standard. "Student doctor" is accepted industry-wide, and should suffice. If the patient persists, then - by all means - be honest.

 

[music2doc]

"Student doctor" seems to be fairly commonly used by quite a few of the attendings here in introducing medical students. It makes sense in that you often hear of "student nurses" and such as well. Attaching the word "student" clarifies that we are not yet doctors but trainees. A patient at that point expects to also hear from someone else (i.e., the actual doctor). At the same time, I believe it clarifies your training a bit as was mentioned earlier. Still, I always feel a little weird being referred to as a "student doctor" and I always introduce myself as a med student or, quite often, "un estudiante de medicina." Maybe that will change 3rd year.

 

[kjamess]

who cares

 

[SlickNickMD]

I've had some attendings insist I introduce myself as "Student Doctor.....". It never sounded right to me but I don't see any issues with it. 3rd year I introduced myself by First and Last name then told the patient I was a medical student working with Dr._______. 4th year I stopped caring and just introduced myself by first name. 😎

 

[Thyroxine]

I've had plenty of attendings introduce me as "student doctor." I've always felt uncomfortable with the term, but never said anything. I think it's a little misleading to patients, but heck, nurses are introducing themselves as doctor, so what's the point.......

Lol, dat inferiority complex.

Personally I too think it's something of a misleading term, but it's not "inappropriate".

 

[Law2Doc]

who cares

You introduce yourself as student doctor because patients will consider you an integral health care provider rather than a gawking observer, and maybe let you stay in the room during a Procedure or examine you. However I've seen it backfire where patients pry medical advice from their student doctor, not understanding he knows squat, and based on that disagree with the plan of their attending physician. Makes for a very awkward situation on rounds.

 

[tco]

You introduce yourself as student doctor because patients will consider you an integral health care provider rather than a gawking observer, and maybe let you stay in the room during a Procedure or examine you. However I've seen it backfire where patients pry medical advice from their student doctor, not understanding he knows squat, and based on that disagree with the plan of their attending physician. Makes for a very awkward situation on rounds.

I've always just said, "I unfortunately can't tell you what I think. However, I'll discuss our findings with the team, and I, or someone else on the team, will return and talk to you about the treatment plan."

Then, I usually just wait until rounds and let the attending explain what we're doing. If he doesn't explain it very well, I'll go back later and tell the patient what's going on.

 

[sanityonleave]

I always introduce myself as "Hi, I'm ____, one of the medical students working in the ER / with the nephrology team / etc." I think the term student doctor is confusing and tends to convey more authority than we actually have.

That said, I have plenty of patients that don't remember my title and call me Dr. Sanityonleave and I don't correct them. I do make it clear when they ask me to explain something to them that I can clarify things for them but that they'll need to talk to one of the supervising doctors to find out an opinion on why we're doing x instead of y, etc. I think some medical students are too shy about accidentally voicing their opinion that they shy away from ever talking about the treatment plan and etc with patients. Often what patients need is an explanation of what's going on, which you're qualified to do (as long as you actually know what's going on). If it comes to opinions on x vs y, that's when you need to defer to your resident/attending.

Anyway, back on topic: student doctor is dumb. I go with medical student and have never had a problem. Some attendings do introduce me as Dr. Soandso, though, which is awkward. That said, correcting people doesn't do any good -- in general, they have no idea about the system anyway.

 

[D elegans]

I introduce myself as 2nd Year Professional Medical Student Doctor D elegans

 

[kjamess]

You introduce yourself as student doctor because patients will consider you an integral health care provider rather than a gawking observer, and maybe let you stay in the room during a Procedure or examine you. However I've seen it backfire where patients pry medical advice from their student doctor, not understanding he knows squat, and based on that disagree with the plan of their attending physician. Makes for a very awkward situation on rounds.

Again, who cares. I spent all of 3rd and 4th yr introducing myself as a med student with no problems. If they asked for medical advice, I either said 'I'm not sure' or just parroted the teams plans. If the team introduced me as student doctor, then I went with it too. If patients asked, then I would clarify, but it never made a difference.

in b4 "you need to address yourself as student doctor lest you lose out on lots of precious patient care experience!1!1!"

 

[Law2Doc]

Again, who cares. I spent all of 3rd and 4th yr introducing myself as a med student with no problems. If they asked for medical advice, I either said 'I'm not sure' or just parroted the teams plans. If the team introduced me as student doctor, then I went with it too. If patients asked, then I would clarify, but it never made a difference.

in b4 "you need to address yourself as student doctor lest you lose out on lots of precious patient care experience!1!1!"

Whatever dude. I have mixed feelings about the "student doctor" title for the reason I stated above.

But you really can't deny that titles impact how people interact with you. You are either in the game or watching from the sidelines.

 

[da8s0859q]

I was often introduced as either "student doctor" or "a student on our team."

I never really introduced myself as a "student doctor" because it just sounded silly in my head, though it's a perfectly fair phrase for MD/DO students. I always said "I'm exi, one of the medical students helping to take care of you" or something similar.

Occasionally said I was a fourth year student when talking to patients in the ED earlier this M4 year, largely because I felt like if I weren't a medical person and were a patient in the ED with any remotely legit complaint, I would at least want to think "fourth year? If I have to have a student in here, at least it sounds like he's maybe not totally clueless."

 

[Jlaw]

My school specifically tells us not to say "student doctor" and to use "medical student" instead. They say that the patient will hear doctor if we call ourselves student doctor but will hear student if we call ourselves medical student. Makes sense to me...

 

[Siggy]

My school tells us to use either "student doctor ___" or "medical student." Personally, I prefer "Hello, I'm Siggy, the medical student on your team. So, what can we help you with today?"

 

[FSU2013]

Lol, dat inferiority complex.

Personally I too think it's something of a misleading term, but it's not "inappropriate".

Yes, the reason I don't like NPs trying to encroach on MDs rights is from an inferiority complex.....that makes sense.

 

[Wilf]

patients pry medical advice from their student doctor, not understanding he knows squat,

I'm asking this seriously: at what point in med school, residency, or practice does this change in your opinion?

 

[Winged Scapula]

So much navel gazing about this. Who really cares?

I ask my students what they prefer. Some patients will be confused, others will not - regardless of what you say.

The term student doctor has been around for *ages* - has it occurred to anyone that we didn't just create the name for this website out of thin air?

 

[Sabate]

A lot of people don't even understand that being a 'medical student' means you will be a doctor when you graduate. About half the time when I go on a date and they (unfortunately) find out that I'm a medical student, their follow-up question is "So are you going to medical school for nursing? PA? What?" At least the phrase 'student doctor' describes what we are more specifically. I vastly prefer to be called a medical student myself, but I wanted to point out that either term can be confusing to patients.

Definitely had that happen to me as well (not on a date). Student doctor sounds more awkward but actually describes what you are. Once you've graduated, you're a doctor, though that alone won't be getting you very far.

 

[NeuroLAX]

My school tells us to use either "student doctor ___" or "medical student." Personally, I prefer "Hello, I'm Siggy, the medical student on your team. So, what can we help you with today?"

My preceptor introduces me as Student Doctor NeuroLAX each time we walk into a new exam room. If I walk in before him, I introduce myself exactly how you do.

I don't know what makes this such a big deal to some people. You're a student doctor starting your first day of medical school.

I have also had people ask me "pharmacy? nursing? PT? etc" after I say that I'm a medical student. Some people still don't get it even after you reply "Medicine"... but for whatever reason when you say "I'm studying to become a doctor/physician" they get it. It doesn't bother me. You can't expect all non-medical people to understand the ins and outs of the medical education system. I wonder how many times I'll have to explain what DO means on my white coat in the future... not that I care one bit.

 

[Akali]

Is it inappropriate? I don't know - maybe a little. In any case, I doubt it really hurts anyone.

Do I prefer to call myself just a medical student? Yup. The less they expect of me, the less I can disappoint them 🙂

 

[link2swim06]

I always introduce myself as "Hi, I'm ____, one of the medical students working in the ER / with the nephrology team / etc." I think the term student doctor is confusing and tends to convey more authority than we actually have.

That said, I have plenty of patients that don't remember my title and call me Dr. Sanityonleave and I don't correct them. I do make it clear when they ask me to explain something to them that I can clarify things for them but that they'll need to talk to one of the supervising doctors to find out an opinion on why we're doing x instead of y, etc. I think some medical students are too shy about accidentally voicing their opinion that they shy away from ever talking about the treatment plan and etc with patients. Often what patients need is an explanation of what's going on, which you're qualified to do (as long as you actually know what's going on). If it comes to opinions on x vs y, that's when you need to defer to your resident/attending.

Anyway, back on topic: student doctor is dumb. I go with medical student and have never had a problem. Some attendings do introduce me as Dr. Soandso, though, which is awkward. That said, correcting people doesn't do any good -- in general, they have no idea about the system anyway.

This happens to me with 95% of patients.

It's easy to be pretty vague as a med student when a pt ask what is the plan. I say "well we likely will need to run some tests and discuss your situation with the whole team." That works well 99% of the time.

I don't like telling them the treatment plan because plans vary with attendings. I can come up with a 'correct plan' after doing the H&P but still not have the precise plan the attending comes up with.

 

[FSU2013]

So much navel gazing about this. Who really cares?

I ask my students what they prefer. Some patients will be confused, others will not - regardless of what you say.

The term student doctor has been around for *ages* - has it occurred to anyone that we didn't just create the name for this website out of thin air?

Good point.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Also agree with OP, mainly because patients usually don't understand that student doctor = medical student

This is my primary concern with it as well. It is well and good that this is our literal designation, but I see it as one of those "honor the spirit not the letter of the law" things. Is it okay for us to call ourselves that, yes, but I prefer to call myself medical student because it is more clear. If an attending wants to introduce me as student doctor, that is totally fine because it clearly establishes the authority structure for the patient.

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm asking this seriously: at what point in med school, residency, or practice does this change in your opinion?

In intern year you start having a much bigger role in taking ownership of the patients, creating and implementing the plan and communicating it to patients. Plus you'll be signing patients out to other interns and vice versa, and its hard to convey to others what the plan is unless you yourself really know whats going on. After a few calls where you are basically the only doctor in house keeping your patients alive, things change for you. By a few months into intern year you will start to know what's what (or your attendings will let you know you aren't meeting milestones). So yeah, intern year this all changes pretty quickly. Until then, you are just a paying customer enjoying the show (even though I know it doesn't feel like that).

 

[thepoopologist]

On the wards, I usually introduce myself as a Xth year medical student. My attendings have introduced me as student doctor on occasion. I'm indifferent to it, I could be introduced as Poopy Mcgee the Pooper Scooper and I'd do my H&P like normal and get the **** out of there.

However...

A lot of people don't even understand that being a 'medical student' means you will be a doctor when you graduate. About half the time when I go on a date and they (unfortunately) find out that I'm a medical student, their follow-up question is "So are you going to medical school for nursing? PA? What?" At least the phrase 'student doctor' describes what we are more specifically. I vastly prefer to be called a medical student myself, but I wanted to point out that either term can be confusing to patients.

Definitely important to clarify on a date. This is an instance where I'd say something like "Yes I'm going to be a physician/medical doctor, I LOVE PATIENTS, I LOVE HELPING PEOPLE.I LOVE THE SCIENCE ...oh yeah the average salary is alright, 200k. BUT I DIDN'T DO IT FOR THE MONEY."

 

[pdxhopeful]

Student Doctor Lastname is how we're usually addressed at my school. We'll change it for Doctor Lastname when we graduate and have a right to that title; not that complicated.

 

[Armadillos]

My medschool has I think a semi-official rule against med-students introducing themselves as student doctor, but attendings do it for us all the time. I do think it is somewhat confusing to the patient in the context of a teaching hospital seeing as I think its important for them to be able to easily distinguish the role and qualifications of the med-student from the resident.

 

[witzelsucht]

In every other aspect of the English language, the modifiers come first, then the noun. So if you say student doctor, you're basically saying you are a doctor who is still learning (student). To me, this indicates an intern or a resident. My school kind of encourages this, and I think it is misleading. That being said, when 90% of the patients do not understand who is the nurse, PA, resident, attending, or student, I suppose it matters very little.

It is somewhat silly, to me, that you are supposed to say Student Doctor then get all technical when the pt says "doc" and tell them you are not, in fact, a "doc."

 

[thedoctor8706]

Well technically the intern/resident is not a student doctor, he or she IS a doctor. Even if they still have a lot to learn.

Personally I prefer introducing myself as a student physician, I just think it flows better?

 

[alpinism]

Lol @ this thread.

Everyone is a student doctor from the 1st day of med school till the day you retire.

Problem solved.

Take a cue from Uncle Harvey: "there is no teaching, only learning..."

 

[da8s0859q]

Lol @ this thread.

Everyone is a student doctor from the 1st day of med school till the day you retire.

Problem solved.

Take a cue from Uncle Harvey: "there is no teaching, only learning..."

There was a thread in hSDN where a high school student suggested that all those preparing for med school, but who hadn't yet even stepped foot in med school, were still "student doctors." Forget if there was any differentiation made between high school and college. That was fun.

 

[evilbooyaa]

I introduce myself as a medical student. If attendings call me a student doctor, then so be it. I'm not gonna be the idiot that corrects the attending. However, most residents will call me the medical student, while attendings will call me the student doctor. Maybe my opinion will differ once I'm an attending.

 

[obgyny]

Last year, my preceptor introduced me to patients as "the future Dr. Bza." I thought it was a little weird... Some patients thought that meant I was just interested in applying to medical school.. while others thought that meant I was about to graduate with my MD.

I just say "medical student" when I introduce myself.

I've also heard our school discourages us from saying "student doctor/physician" and changed our ID badges to say "medical student."

 

[tco]

The term student doctor has been around for *ages* - has it occurred to anyone that we didn't just create the name for this website out of thin air?

Exactly what I've been thinking through this entire thread.

 

[cheruka]

A couple of attendings introduced me Dr. Cheruka. This was in my fourth yr.

 

[deleted480308]

I shadowed (premed) with an er physician who introduced me as "student doctor". I asked him about it, he said it was the simplest and most understandable term he could use for me that wouldn't slow him down by requiring an explanation. He then said since I wasn't going to talk or touch anyone that my title was essentially irrelevant to any purpose but allowing patients to be comfortable and him to keep moving. I loved that guy, he was awesome

 

[chiz2kul]

this entire discussion is ridiculous. do people really care this much about student doctor vs medical student?

 

[Anon212]

People on SDN care this much about everything. We're also not supposed to tell anyone outside the hospital we're doctors for fear of getting sued.