|
|
|
|
Doctor (title)
|
| |
|
| |
Doctor (gen.: doctoris) means teacher in Latin. The word is originally an agentive noun of the verb docere ('teach'). It has been used continuously as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the university. This use spread to the Americas, former European colonies, and is now prevalent in most of the world. As a prefix — abbreviated "Dr"— its primary designation is a person who has obtained a doctorate (that is, a doctoral degree), which is the highest rank of academic degree awardable.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Doctor (title)' Start a new discussion about 'Doctor (title)' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
Doctor (gen.: doctoris) means teacher in Latin. The word is originally an agentive noun of the verb docere ('teach'). It has been used continuously as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the university. This use spread to the Americas, former European colonies, and is now prevalent in most of the world. As a prefix — abbreviated "Dr"— its primary designation is a person who has obtained a doctorate (that is, a doctoral degree), which is the highest rank of academic degree awardable. Doctoral degrees may be "research doctorates", awarded on the basis of competency in research, or "taught doctorates" (also called "professional doctorates", because they are invariably awarded in professional subjects), awarded on the basis of coursework and adjunct requirements (if any) successfully completed by the conferee.
In some languages, when addressing several persons of whom each holds a doctor title, one can use the plural abbreviation Dres. (for Latin 'doctores'). E.g., instead of Dr. Miller and Dr. Rubinstein: Dres. Miller and Rubinstein.
Doctor as a noun
Throughout most of the academic world, the term "doctor" refers to an individual who earned a degree of Doctor of Philosophy, or Ph.D. (an abbreviation for the Latin Philosophić Doctor; or alternatively Doctor philosophić, D.Phil., originally from the Greek ??d??t?? F???s?f?a?, Didaktor Philosophias, meaning Teacher of Philosophy), or other research doctorates such as the Doctor of Science, or Sc.D. (an abbreviation of the Latin Scientiae Doctor) or the EdD (Education), DBA (Business), DPA (Public Administration), etc. Beyond academia and in the classical professions, such as medicine and the law, the professional doctorates emerged such as the Doctor of Medicine M.D. (an abbreviation of the Latin Medicinć Doctor), or Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery MBBS, MBChB, MB, BCh, etc. (an abbreviation of the Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus et Baccalaureus Chirurgiae), and the Juris Doctor or Doctor of Jurisprudence.
The first academic degrees were all law degrees, and the first law degrees were doctorates. The origins of the doctorate dates back to the ijazat attadris wa'l-ifttd ("license to teach and issue legal opinions") in the medieval Islamic Madrasahs that taught Islamic law since the 9th century. The foundations for the first European universities were the glossators of the 11th century, which were schools of law that taught Canon law and Roman law. The first European university, the University of Bologna, was founded as a school of law by four famous legal scholars in the 12th century who were students of the glossator school in Bologna. It is from this history that it is said that the first academic title of doctor applied to scholars of law. The degree and title were not applied to scholars of other disciplines until the 13th century. And at the University of Bologna from its founding in the 12th century until the end of the 20th century the only degree conferred was the doctorate, usually earned after five years of intensive study after secondary school. The rising of the doctor of philosophy to its present level is a modern novelty. At its origins, a doctorate was simply a qualification for a guild—that of teaching law.
The earliest doctoral degrees (theology, law, and medicine) reflected the historical separation of all university study into these three fields. Over time the D.D. has gradually become less common and studies outside theology and medicine have become more common (such studies were then called "philosophy", but are now classified as sciences and humanities - however this usage survives in the degree of Doctor of Philosophy).
The Ph.D. was originally a degree granted by a university to learned individuals who had achieved the approval of their peers and who had demonstrated a long and productive career in the field of philosophy. The appellation of "Doctor" (from Latin: teacher) was usually awarded only when the individual was in middle age. It indicated a life dedicated to learning, to knowledge, and to the spread of knowledge.
The Ph.D. entered widespread use in the 19th century at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin as a degree to be granted to someone who had undertaken original research in the sciences or humanities. From there it spread to the United States, arriving at Yale University in 1861, and then to the United Kingdom in 1921. This displaced the existing Doctor of Philosophy degree in some Universities; for instance, the D.Phil. (higher doctorate in the faculty of philosophy) at the University of St Andrews was discontinued and replaced with the Ph.D. (research doctorate). However, some UK universities such as Oxford and Sussex (and, until recently, York) retain the D.Phil. appellation for their research degrees, as, until recently, did the University of Waikato in New Zealand.
In the US, the Doctor of Science, Sc.D., is an academic research degree that was first conferred in North America by Harvard University in 1872, and is relatively rarer than the Ph.D. However, the Sc.D. degree has long been awarded by leading institutions such as Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, Washington University in St. Louis, etc. At many of these universities, the academic requirements for the Ph.D. and Sc.D. are identical, and with identical doctoral academic regalia. In effort to standardize doctoral degree conferral at these large research institutions, the Ph.D. has replaced and grandfathered the Sc.D. in certain programs, while the Sc.D. is preserved in parallel to the Ph.D. as the highest conferred research doctorate.
Some ability to carry out original research must be documented by producing a dissertation or thesis, often of substantial length. The degree and title "doctor" is often a prerequisite for permanent (or nearly permanent) employment as a university lecturer or as a researcher in some sciences, though this varies on a regional basis. In others such as engineering or geology, a doctoral degree is considered desirable but not essential for employment. In a small but growing number of fields, the doctorate is felt to injure employment prospects by causing 'overqualification' for the job.
Medical profession
In English-speaking countries, the title doctor is strongly associated with the medical profession. Most medical practitioners use the title professionally and socially.
- A & C Black also note that British surgeons - a designation reserved for those who have obtained membership of the Royal College of Surgeons - are addressed as Mr, Mrs or Miss rather than Dr. This custom has been commented on in the British Medical Journal and may stem from the historical origins of the profession.
- For many years the UK's General Dental Council (GDC) regarded the use of the title doctor by dentists as a disciplinary offence; however on November 14, 1995 the GDC ruled that dentists could use the title doctor thenceforth provided that they did not do so to imply that they held qualifications that they did not possess.
- Speaking in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom on January 19, 1996, health minister Gerald Malone noted that the title doctor had never been restricted to either medical practitioners or those with doctoral degrees in the United Kingdom, commenting that the word was defined by common usage but that the titles "physician, doctor of medicine, licentiate in medicine and surgery, bachelor of medicine, surgeon, general practitioner and apothecary" did have special protection in law.
- In the Unites States only, the D.O. degree is an equivalent degree to M.D. with a different history.
In German-speaking countries the word Doktor refers to someone with a research doctorate, and is distinct from Arzt, which refers exclusively to a medical practitioner. An Arzt who holds the Dr. med. degree is addressed as Herr Doktor; an Arzt who does not would simply be Herr. This rule has been weakened recently, and people (e.g. in Austria) refer to medical practitioners as Doktor too.
Legal profession
Generally speaking, the modern practice is for lawyers to avoid use of any title, although formal practice varies across the world.
Historically lawyers in most European countries were addressed with the title of doctor, and countries outside of Europe have generally followed the practice of the European country which had policy influence through "modernization" or "colonialization." The first university degrees, starting with the law school of the University of Bologna (or glossators) in the 11th century, were all law degrees and doctorates. Degrees in other fields did not start until the 13th century, but the doctor continued to be the only degree offered at many of the old universities until the 20th century. Therefore, in many of the southern European countries, including Portugal, Spain and Italy, lawyers have traditionally been addressed as “doctor,” a practice which was transferred to many countries in South America (including Macau in China). Because the law degrees are no longer doctorate level degrees, the formal “doctor” title for lawyers is either seen as archaic or incorrect, although it is still a legal title in Italy and in use in many countries outside of Europe.
The title of doctor has never been used to address lawyers in England or other common law countries (with the exception of the United States). This is because until 1846 lawyers in England were not required to have a university degree and were trained by other attorneys by apprenticeship or in the Inns of Court. When law degrees started to become a requirement for lawyers in England, the degree awarded was the undergraduate LL.B.
Even though most lawyers in the United States do not use any titles, the law degree in that country is the Juris Doctor, a professional doctorate degree, and some J.D. holders in the United States use the title of "Doctor" in professional and academic situations. In countries where holders of the first law degree traditionally use the title of doctor (e.g. Peru, Brazil, Macau, Portugal, Argentina, and Italy), J.D. holders who are attorneys will often use the title of doctor as well.
In many Asian countries, the proper title for a lawyer is simply, “lawyer,” but holders of the Juris Doctor degree are also called "??" (doctor).
Use of "doctor" as a title of address
In the U.S. it is widely accepted that those who hold a medical degree M.D., M.B.B.S., D.O. or research doctorate Ph.D., or Sc.D., or an applied reasearch doctorate Ed.D, D.B.A., D.P.A., etc are entitled to use the title of "doctor" and prefix their names with "Dr." Those with J.D. degrees and honorary doctorates typically do not use the title "doctor" or the prefix "Dr." even though they are entitled to do so.
Usually only medical doctorates D.O., M.D. or M.B.B.S. (and its Commonwealth variations) use the stand-alone title of a "Doctor". Dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, and veterinarians are often also addressed as doctors; while pharmacists may be referred to as "doctor" in certain situations, although restrictions apply in some jurisdictions and some situations (e.g., when it would mislead someone to think that they are licensed physician). Dentists and podiatrists may be addressed as "physicians and surgeons" due to the close similarities of their course work, national Board examinations, and rotations in post-graduate residency to that of the MD or MBBS training.
In the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and other areas whose culture was recently linked to the United Kingdom, the title Doctor generally applies in both the academic and clinical fields. "Registered medical practitioners" hold the degree of Bachelor of Medicine (usually also with surgery). Cultural conventions exist, clinicians who are Members or Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons are an exception. As a homage to their predecessors, the barber surgeons, they prefer to be addressed as Mr, Mrs, Ms or Miss, even if they do hold a medical degree. When a medical doctor passes the examinations which enable them to become a member of one or more of the Royal Surgical Colleges and become "MRCS", it is customary for them to drop the "Doctor" prefix and take up "Mister". This rule applies to any doctor of any grade who has passed the appropriate exams, and is not the exclusive province of consultant-level surgeons. In recent times, other surgically-orientated specialists, such as gynaecologists, have also adopted the "Mister" prefix. A surgeon who is also a professor is usually known as "Professor" and, similarly, a surgeon who has been ennobled, knighted, created a baronet or appointed a dame uses the corresonding title (Lord, Sir, Dame). Physicians, on the other hand, when they pass their "MRCP" examinations, which enable them to become members of the Royal College of Physicians, do not drop the "Doctor" prefix and remain doctor, even when they are consultants. In the United Kingdom the status and rank of consultant surgeons with the MRCS, titled "mister", and consultant physicians with the MRCP, titled "doctor", is identical. Surgeons in the USA and elsewhere may have the title "doctor".
Canada lies somewhere between British and American usage of the degree and terminology of "doctor". On one hand all medical practitioners trained in Canada receive the MD degree and are referred to as "Doctor". The British use of "Mr" for surgeons is not followed in Canada. On the other hand, in the legal profession, graduates of almost all Canadian law schools receive the LLB degree and there is no question whatsoever of these Canadian lawyers not being referred to as "doctor" (in a growing number of Canadian law schools, including the University of Toronto, the degree of Juris Doctor is conferred). Medicine, Dentistry, and Law (as well as other first professional degree programs) are
generally not considered to be graduate education in Canada, but rather a specialized professional undergraduate program. Practitioners in veterinary medicine, optometry and dentistry have doctorate degrees and are very commonly referred to with the title "Dr" preceding the specific name, but not referred to as "a doctor". Practitioners of podiatry and alternative medicine may not be referred to with the "Dr" honorific in relation to providing the public with health care services. In Ontario, only Chiropractors, Dentists, Medical Doctors, Optometrists, Psychologists, and registered Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists can use the title. A registered Naturopathic doctor may only use the title “doctor” in written format if he or she also uses the phrase, “naturopathic doctor”, immediately following his or her name. Honorary degrees, usually LLD, are similar to those in the United States. Research doctorates are mostly PhD's and ScD's.
In Italy, all university graduates (after a 3 year course equivalent to a Bachelor degree) receive the title "Dottore"; after earning a second 2-years degree "Dottore Magistrale", and after earning their Ph.D. "Dottore di Ricerca". Therefore, Italians thus address each other and present themselves as "Dott." or Dr. even if not holding what in other countries is considered a doctorate. This phenomenon may have been caused by Italy's previous lack of a "Ph.D." degree.
In German speaking countries, all holders of doctorate degrees are appropriately addressed as "Dr X" in all social situations. However, those granted PhDs from other countries may find themselves in legal difficulties if they use the term "Doktor" professionally in Germany.
Double doctorates are indicated in the title by "Dr.Dr." or "DDr." and triple doctorates as "Dr.Dr.Dr." or "DDDr.". More doctorates are indicated by the addition of "mult.", such as "Dr. mult.". Honorary titles are shown with the addition of "hc", which stands for "honoris causa". Example: "Dr. hc. mult."
In the Philippines, where titles and names of occupations usually follow Spanish naming conventions (gender-specific terms), the feminine form of "Doktor" is "Doktora", and is abbreviated usually as "Dra."
Many academic, research scientist and practitioners in subjects allied to medicine also use Dr and/or their terminal degree after their last name. (Terminal degrees include Ph.D., Sc.D., D.P.A., Ed.D., or Psy.D.)
EU legislation recognises academic qualifications (including higher degrees and doctorates) of all member states. In Germany, a recent federal law (signed by all Cultural and Educational Ministers in accord with the EU law) confirmed the standardisation of qualifications and recognised that non-Germans were also entitled to use the title Doctor if they possessed an equivalent and recognised qualification from an EU member state. Until this Federal Law was introduced, there was no recognised mechanism to prevent administrators in private bodies and civil servants in public-funded bodies (such as universities) from automatically discriminating between the qualifications of people with German doctorates compared to holders of doctorates from an EU member state. The German university bureaucratic practice of using the post-nominal form, "Ph.D." (or equivalent), to distinguish non-German doctorates can be challenged legally as evidence of arbitrary discrimination and prejudice against non-German nationals (academics). All EU citizens are now "legally entitled" to use and be titled (addressed) as "Doctor" or "Dr." in all formal, legal and published communications. For academics with doctorates from non-EU member states, the qualification must be recognised formally ("validated") by the Federal Educational Ministry in Bonn. The recognition process can be done by the employer or employee and may be part of the official bureaucracy for confirming professional status and is dependent on individual bilateral agreements between Germany and other countries.
In Hungary the title of Doctor used to become a part of the name and is added as such to personal ID documents. The use of this practice has been significantly declined in the recent years, although legally it is still possible.
In Austria academic titles become part of the name and are therefore added to all personal ID documents. In certain legal transactions, such as land purchases, the person has to sign with the title, even if the person's usual signature does not include the title (has elected to omit it).
Correct abbreviation of "Doctor"
In British English it is not necessary to indicate a abbreviation with a full stop (period) after the abbreviation, when the last letter of the abbreviation is the same as the unabbreviated word, while the opposite holds true in North American English. This means that while the abbreviation of Doctor is usually written as "Dr" in most of the Commonwealth, it is usually written as "Dr." in North America.
Similarly, conventions regarding the punctuation of degree abbreviations vary. In the United Kingdom, it is increasingly common to omit punctuations from abbreviations that are not truncations: while the usual abbreviation of "Esquire" is "Esq.", the usual abbreviation for "Doctor of Philosophy" is "PhD". It is not incorrect to use the fully-punctuated "Ph.D.", though if this pattern is used, it should be used consistently; practice in particular situations may vary, and it is always more elegant to be consistent with a local patterns of usage than to deviate from.
Honorary doctorates
An honorary doctorate is a doctoral degree awarded for service to the institution or the wider community. This service does not need be academic in nature. Often, the same set of degrees is used as for higher doctorates, but they are distinguished as being honoris causa: in comprehensive lists, the lettering used to indicate the possession of a higher doctorate is often adjusted to indicate this, e.g. "Hon. Sc.D.", as opposed to the earned research doctorate "Sc.D.". The degrees of Doctor of the University (D.Univ.) and Doctor of Humane Letters (D.H.L.), however, are only awarded as an honorary degree.
Other uses of "Doctor"
- In some regions, such as the Southern United States, "Doctor" is traditionally added to the first name of people (especially men) holding doctorates, where it is used in either direct or indirect familiar address.
- "Doc" is a common nickname for someone with a doctoral degree, in real life and in fiction — for example, the character "Doc" in Gunsmoke and Doc Holliday. Also, Doc Savage, 'Man of Bronze', a series of young adult pulp fiction paperback books popular among US high school students during the 1960s and 1970s. "Doc" is Marty McFly's nickname for Doctor Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy.
- In Roman Catholicism and several other Christian denominations, a Doctor of the Church is an eminent theologian (e.g. Thomas Aquinas, also known as the Angelic Doctor) from whose teachings the whole Church is held to have derived great advantage.
External links
- SECTION 1. IC 24-5-0.5-12 IS
-
|
| |
|
|
