“Not a real doctor”

[UncertainOpto]

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What do you say/do when someone says you are not a “real” doctor? Some physicians are even upset that optometrists wear white coats and call themselves “doctors.” What are your thoughts?

 

[zNoodlez]

You are certainly a real doctor, just not a physician.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

What do you say/do when someone says you are not a “real” doctor? Some physicians are even upset that optometrists wear white coats and call themselves “doctors.” What are your thoughts?

If a nurse and social worker can wear a white coat, an optometrist have a right to do so... Yes, optometrists are doctors, i have no problem with it because they do not misrepresent themselves introducing themselves as doctors in a clinical setting. NP's however are calling themselves doctors in an ER/Hospital and the patients actually think they are actual doctors(physicians)...

Actually in my hospital, the physicians are just wearing scrubs and no white coat and RN's are wearing white coats.

 

[Purkinja]

I’ve never been told that personally.I would say that my patients would disagree as they consent to me removing a lid lesion or doing an in office laser procedure.My accountant would also disagree as he knows how much money I make every year.

YOU have the greatest control over what people say about you.

 

[UnicornOpt]

I spend a lot of time at night losing sleep thinking about it.

 

[KHE]

I have not heard that in years but my standard response has always been "No. You're right. I'm a doctor like Julius Erving is a doctor. But I get paid like a real doctor so I'm totally fine with it."

 

[Snakedoctor1]

Outside the minds of self affirmation/approval seeking pre-whatever students this issue is virtually nonexistent. There is so much silliness surrounding the word "doctor."

Legally I am an optometric physician. When someone asks what I do for a living, do I say I'm a doctor? No, that carries with it the connotation that I went to medical school and want to hear about the new growth on their foot. So I say I'm an optometrist, and then they tell me about their floaters instead. If they ask if an optometrist is a doctor, I say yes, for the eyes.

If you really want to, you could get into the weeds about whether an optometrist is a "doctor" in the same way a lawyer is a doctor. That answer is most accurately no, because unlike many other doctorate degrees, an optometrist prescribes a number of medications for medical conditions relating to the eye.

In the end, the whole debate is nonsense. My patients call me doctor, because that's my title. I treat them for eye problems, and they respect me for what I do. I couldn't give a god damn about another healthcare provider or anyone else taking issue with my title. We all have our jobs, and I consider myself pretty decent at mine. I don't mislead my patients, and I don't pretend to know things I don't know. I respect other healthcare providers who do their jobs as well.

Healthcare is broad, with many providers. Not all are doctors, and no doctor can treat everything, which I presume is why I have seen several patients who were prescribed topical antibiotics for uveitis from a non-eye doctor.