what's an honorary MD?

[12R34Y]

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this is confusing to me. never seen this before. This guy has an M.D. D.O. MD (H).

here is the bio on this guy. never heard of an honorary M.D. just curious.

later
http://www.gordonresearch.com/_articles_misc/drgbio.html

 

[DrMom]

In the 60s in Cali, the state *gave* MDs to the DOs for a small fee b/c the state tried to do away with osteopathic medicine.

 

[beastmaster]

this is confusing to me. never seen this before. This guy has an M.D. D.O. MD (H).

here is the bio on this guy. never heard of an honorary M.D. just curious.

later
http://www.gordonresearch.com/_articles_misc/drgbio.html

Honorary degrees (any degree can such be used) are usually given for achievement, scholarship, and outstanding contribution to a field for many years.

Now, itt is awarded at the end of a career as recognition, as opposed to a regular degree which is awarded in the beginning of your career as a credential. (Back then there could have been a different set of rules).

 

[hylacinerea]

Didn't UC Irvine actually start out as a DO school? I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere... Maybe that had something to do with the honorary MD coming from that institution.

 

[Kubed]

In the 60s in Cali, the state *gave* MDs to the DOs for a small fee b/c the state tried to do away with osteopathic medicine.

The DO who wrote my letter of rec. got a MD this way. He went to UC Irvine back when it was a DO school and was regraduated later with a MD. He said he loved having both because he got twice the promotional stuff and two PDR's a year.

 

[hylacinerea]

The DO who wrote my letter of rec. got a MD this way. He went to UC Irvine back when it was a DO school and was regraduated later with a MD. He said he loved having both because he got twice the promotional stuff and two PDR's a year.

Nice! 👍

 

[12R34Y]

Thanks for the replies. I really don't care all that much, but I was sitting here and an infomercial came on the tv and this guy with the M.D. D.O MD (H) showed up and I figured who better to ask than the osteo forum.

thanks for quenching my curiousity.

later

 

[group_theory]

The MD that UC Irvine (actually it went from California College of Osteopathic Medicine to California College of Medicine before it became UC Irvine - see school history website for details) awarded to DOs isn't technically an honorary degree just because it wasn't awarded honoris causa (and usually honorary degrees have the word honorary on it). It was just a worthless degree awarded (and a major reason why hospitals and other state medical boards didn't recognize it, dooming the CA DO-MD merger)

Also, it is customary to not list honorary degrees after one's name - otherwise, every celebrities/politicians will have lots of "doctorates" listed after their name. It is also customary to not call honorary doctorate degree holders "doctor". However, it is just academic custom and not a definite rule.
If the honorary degree is listed, usually it is followed by the (Hon) designation, not just (H).

In this case with Dr. Gordon, the MD(H) actually might be related to the fact that he is an MD that is board certified by the State of Arizona Board of Homeopathic Medical Examiner.
http://home.mindspring.com/~bhme/phy_dir.htm
(Don't ask me why a State board's website is located on mindspring)

Also, in the United States, the MD degree isn't awarded anymore as an honorary degree. Usually the degree of choice would be the DSc. (Doctor of Science) although at some schools, the Doctor of Science degree is still being offered as an earned degree. Other popular honorary degrees in the US include Doctor of Humane Letters, Doctor of Law, and sometimes Doctor of Music.

P.S. Some examples of people who have received honorary doctorates but society does not refer to as "doctor"
Bob Dylan (Robert Alan Zimmerman) - Honorary doctorates from Princeton University (1970) and St. Andrews University Scotland (2004)
Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) - Honorary doctorate from Berklee School of Music 2003
Mike Tyson - Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Central State University Ohio in 1989 (source: Sports Illustrated, May 20, 2002, Volume 96, no. 21, Page 37)
Ted Turner (CNN AOL Time Warner) has 31 honorary doctorates

 

[Kubed]

Thanks for the replies. I really don't care all that much, but I was sitting here and an infomercial came on the tv and this guy with the M.D. D.O MD (H) showed up and I figured who better to ask than the osteo forum.

thanks for quenching my curiousity.

later

Hey......... I met this guy. He's way, way, WAY out there. I had a pre-med class that he came a spoke to. I was with him until he started talking about the energy of water. When he told us how we can cure a UTI by drinking our own urine ... ya, I sort of tuned out after that

 

[Kazema]

When he told us how we can cure a UTI by drinking our own urine ... ya, I sort of tuned out after that

Oh wow. That'll quench more than your curiosity.

 

[Celiac Plexus]

In this case with Dr. Gordon, the MD(H) actually might be related to the fact that he is an MD that is board certified by the State of Arizona Board of Homeopathic Medical Examiner.
http://home.mindspring.com/~bhme/phy_dir.htm
(Don't ask me why a State board's website is located on mindspring)

"homeopathic medical examiner"? lol. the degree that this organization hands out for 525 dollars a year is an "m.d.(h)" degree... i'm sure that the similarity to the m.d. title is not accidental.

licensing for an m.d. is done by the national board of medical examiners for graduates of lcme approved medical schools, and by individual states. board certification is granted by the appropriate specialty board as directed by the american board of medical specialties. a "homepathic medical examiner" as represented on a mindspring web site has nothing to do with someone listing m.d. after their name.

 

[LVDoc]

This is pretty weird. It's not an honorary MD, as another poster pointed out. The thing is, it seems to be awarded only to licensed physicians (MD or DO) that practice one or more of these modalities:

Acupuncture, Classical
Acupuncture, electro-diagnosis
Chelation Therapy
Classical (Kentian) homeopathy
Complex homeopathy and electro therapeutics
Neuromuscular Integration
Orthomolecular therapy/Nutrition

http://home.mindspring.com/~bhme/app_phy.pdf

What kind of an organization uses mindspring.com to host their site?