Could you provide proof you are qualified to practice medicine?

[Seshat]

On the sub-topic of cultural variations in the use of titles:


At the university I studied at, one of our lecturers was formally 'Professor <lastname>', and informally 'Doc Dave' or just 'David'. ('Doc Dave' because it's alliterative, I think.)

The dean was usually 'Prof <lastname>'. He got 'Prof'ed rather than ever firstnamed out of respect, I think. The other staff usually 'Prof'ed him, and we followed their example.

The rest of the lecturers were firstnamed, except for another whose name was alliterative with 'Doc'.

[Ashaela]

Yes and no.

It is legal to call yourself Doctor as long as you are not claiming to be a medical doctor for the purposes of practicing medicine or obtaining things only someone with a medical degree and/or license can legally obtain. In other words, if you just want to refer to yourself as Doctor Mango, it's legal, as long as you don't go beyond using it as a title.

It's the same in Texas; state law prohibits a person from practicing medicine if they aren't licensed through us, or giving the impression that they are licensed if they aren't.

(I am not a lawyer, but I do have to answer this question a lot and provide links to the statute.)

So a person with an MD or DO degree might have finished medical school, but never been licensed to practice medicine; or a person might have a doctorate in a field other than medicine; and any of those people can refer to themselves as "Doctor So-and-So" as long as they don't "diagnose, treat, or offer to treat a mental or physical disease" etc. etc.

There are also people with a Doctorate of Nursing; that gets complicated because they are entitled to be called "Doctor," but they're working in a medical capacity and have to be extra-specific not to portray themselves as physicians. I've had people call about that before too.

[sstabeler]

about the Manitoba guy: might he have qualified as a doctor in Manitoba, and was asking how to transfer his license to practice? It's the only way I can think for that question to be innocent.

[Geek King]

I can understand some of the titles listed (doctor, professor, priests) but they had "his/her royal highness" in the list as well.

Royalty has to report taxable income too. My mom once did the taxes for the princess of Monaco's investment holdings in Ohio.

[...] such as Doctor Hook, [...]

The queen of all the night birds watch her when she walks
She don't say nothing but, baby makes her blue jeans talk

</boogie>

[Seshat]

It's the same in Texas; state law prohibits a person from practicing medicine if they aren't licensed through us, or giving the impression that they are licensed if they aren't.

I don't know whether it's state or federal law in Australia, but doctors, dentists, nurses, etc etc all have a "scope of practice" here. For example, my family doctor can prescribe and diagnose many things, but some things she has to refer me to a specialist in.
My mental health nurse can provide counselling and 'talking therapy', and can provide and/or recommend aids and equipment; but she can't prescribe so much as an aspirin - it's outside 'scope of practice' for her to prescribe medicines. (I believe she could provide already-prescribed medicine, but she can't prescribe.)
My pharmacist can recommend medicines, but can't prescribe. He can, of course, provide prescribed medication and can provide over-the-counter medications and other medical supplies.

Etc etc etc.

And if you're not licenced as a medical practitioner of whatever type, you don't have a scope-of-practice in medical fields, and aren't permitted to do any of that.

[crazylegs]

And if you're not licenced as a medical practitioner of whatever type, you don't have a scope-of-practice in medical fields, and aren't permitted to do any of that.

In the UK you can, but only in *very* tightly controlled circumstances. For example the RNLI has certain exemptions the The Medicines Act. Furthermore the volunteer aid societies have the members give out certain medications (oxygen is a drug, and prescription only one at that) under a Doctors authority - what this means in practice is that the member of these aid societies can give certain medications as long as they following the training they've given.

[Sapphire Silk]

- And finally, may I ask how it is that you have fifteen years of experience doing something you admit you are not qualified to do? Do I want to know?

It's an unfortunate reality that there are many people who practice all kinds of naturopathic healing who call themselves doctors when they are not, and get quite offended when called on it.

They are breaking the law. You can't call yourself a doctor if you are doing any kind of "healing" unless you are a physician or a nurse practitioner with a DNP (Doctorate of Nursing Practice).

While I'm thinking of it, this was from a few years ago...

Me: "Hi, I'm calling to check on the status of a Dr. Firstname Lastname."
Rep: "He is not and has never been registered as a physician with [college]."

I get the impression you sell medical technology. To buy it, you usually have to be a licensed physician or an authorized rep of a hospital or other health care organization, or a school thereof.

Me: "I'm sorry to ask, but could you provide proof in writing that you are qualified to practice medicine?"
SC: "Are you saying that you're questioning my honour? I have never been asked such a question before. I'm wondering about the reason for it."

SC: "This gets my back up. This gets my back up, big time!"

See my comment above

Upon further investigation I discovered that he doesn't claim to have a degree; he just says "Doctor" before his name when introducing himself. I'm curious; assuming he is not practicing medicine, is this legal?

Yes and no. Doctor is not a professional title. It is an academic title. Physician is the professional title, and only graduates of medical schools and schools of osteopathic medicine can call themselves physicians. Anyone who graduates with a doctoral degree can call themselves Doctor. This include many different disciplines: Doctors of Philosophy being the most common, but also Doctors of Divinity, Juris Doctorates (JD's, though lawyers almost never use this title by custom), Doctor of Science (DSc), and so on. Dentists can also call themselves doctor because their degree is Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS).

Legally, you have to have the right degree to use the title doctor, but there's no real legal penalty for using it if you don't have one unless you present yourself to be something you're not (like a physician), or you use the title to perpetrate a fraud (hard to prove).

It's the same in Texas; state law prohibits a person from practicing medicine if they aren't licensed through us, or giving the impression that they are licensed if they aren't.

Every state has that clause in their Medical Practice Act. It's true for nursing as well; you can't call yourself a nurse unless you are an RN or LPN. Doing so can get you charged with a misdemeanor and a fine. Some states are moving to make impersonating a physician a felony.

So a person with an MD or DO degree might have finished medical school, but never been licensed to practice medicine;

Correct! And they have the legal right to use the title Doctor. However, they cannot actually practice medicine without a license.

or a person might have a doctorate in a field other than medicine; and any of those people can refer to themselves as "Doctor So-and-So" as long as they don't "diagnose, treat, or offer to treat a mental or physical disease" etc. etc.

Also correct, since Doctor is an academic title not a professional one as I explained above. No PhD in Literature would even consider such a thing.

There are also people with a Doctorate of Nursing; that gets complicated because they are entitled to be called "Doctor," but they're working in a medical capacity and have to be extra-specific not to portray themselves as physicians. I've had people call about that before too.

Some physician groups want to make it illegal for nursing practitioners who are Doctors of Nursing (DNPs) from calling themselves Doctor. This has legal issues since physicians don't own the term. Most patients do understand the differences in levels of practice, many patients already call NPs and PAs "doc" anyway, and all NPs need to do is to clarify their level of practice when they meet the patient, and have it embroidered on their lab coat.

DNP: Hi, I'm Doctor Silk, and I'll be your family nurse practitioner today.

[Mango]

It's an unfortunate reality that there are many people who practice all kinds of naturopathic healing who call themselves doctors when they are not, and get quite offended when called on it.

Since you mentioned the word naturopathic - it is possible to be a naturopathic physician. Here in BC some of their training is the same as a GP and some is different. They also have a lot of the same privileges as MDs (for example they can prescribe medication). We have plenty of customers who are NDs and they are legally allowed to use our product.

Unfortunately the customers I made fun of in the first post in this thread sometimes tarnish the reputation of qualified NDs (and MDs and DOs and everyone else).

[starsinthesky]

Upon further investigation I discovered that he doesn't claim to have a degree; he just says "Doctor" before his name when introducing himself. I'm curious; assuming he is not practicing medicine, is this legal?

If he is reping himself as a medical doctor than yes. but he may have earned a Ph.D.

Funny story. When I was pregnant with my first child we were thinking of "D" names. My husband, his father and grandmother all have "D" for the first name and the same middle name. So my sister suggested that we name him Doctor so he could call himself doctor without having to have all the schooling. I didn't name him Doctor. Though considering the Doctor Who fan he is at 10 years old, it would have fit.

[crazylegs]

Funny story. When I was pregnant with my first child we were thinking of "D" names. My husband, his father and grandmother all have "D" for the first name and the same middle name. So my sister suggested that we name him Doctor so he could call himself doctor without having to have all the schooling. I didn't name him Doctor. Though considering the Doctor Who fan he is at 10 years old, it would have fit.

Such a shame you didn't name him David Ryan Starsinthesky

[sms001]

Do I want to know?

I'm guessing no.

Rep:"Nope, you're not the first person to call unfortunately."

Oh dear.

Hooray! The second stupidest conversation I've had in my entire life!

Yeah, I'll third ArcticChicken & Jester. Give!

And in fiction, there is, of course, The Doctor.

And E.E. 'Doc' Smith.

If he wasn't using the term doctor, it would mean he was pretending to be me.

inimitable - not to be confused with impertinent or impudent.

[Jester]

Inimitable. "...very so good or unusual as to be impossible to copy."

As I said....ME!

[Ashaela]

Every state has that clause in their Medical Practice Act. It's true for nursing as well; you can't call yourself a nurse unless you are an RN or LPN. Doing so can get you charged with a misdemeanor and a fine. Some states are moving to make impersonating a physician a felony.

I was all but 100% certain that had to be the case, but the only state's laws I've personally read are for Texas.

all NPs need to do is to clarify their level of practice when they meet the patient, and have it embroidered on their lab coat.

DNP: Hi, I'm Doctor Silk, and I'll be your family nurse practitioner today.

Right, that's best practice... But I've had several calls from people trying to verify a physician license for someone who turns out to be a registered nurse, who say they were either flat-out told or were given every impression that the nurse was a physician. You may want to take that with a grain of salt, though; the patient might not have been paying attention when the nurse introduced him/herself, and a nurse who did do that (again, strictly speaking in Texas) could be subject to not only disciplinary actions by the Nursing Board but also possible criminal charges through the AG. Which I'm sure they're well aware of.

[dalesys]

And if you're not licenced as a medical practitioner of whatever type, you don't have a scope-of-practice in medical fields, and aren't permitted to do any of that.

However, you do have a screwup-of-practices and can be charged for that.

[EricKei]

"...impossible to copy doctor". What does that even mean?

It means the Sharingan doesn't work on him.... *dodges thrown tomatoes*