Do you think a PhD earns people the right to be called doctor in a social setting?

[Maleficent13]

I'm the Vice President of a international company. I have worked and studied as hard over the years as any Doctor.

I would never expect anyone to refer to me as "Mr. Vice President".

I will respectfully refer to you as anything you want with that dog by your side!

Actually, everytime I see that pic of Brutus I just want to hug him! I never *would* though!

 

[DisneyTarheel]

Doctor means teacher in Latin. Here is an interesting history of its use as a title: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_(title)

 

[Taylor]

I
Actually, everytime I see that pic of Brutus I just want to hug him! I never *would* though!

You can hug him at any time. My wife calls him "her big bowl of mush" because he is so loving.

 

[Beca]

Most of my college professors were Dr's. We had a pretty small department. We partied at their houses, and two of them married friends of mine (students at the time) while we were in school. We were instructed to call them by their first names...it's a theatre thing.

However, anytime I introduced them to anyone, I always called them "Dr......", and waited for them to say, "Just call me ...." Sometimes they did, and sometimes they didn't.

I think anyone who pursues education that long (not to mention forks out that kind of $$$) earns the right to be called whatever they choose professionally. It is their honor to accept or decline.

 

[MickeyMouseGal]

I'm a DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) and to the clients, I am generally referred to as "Doctor" by my co-workers. It's a fairly casual office and since there are seven of us, including two sets of doctors with the same last name (one married couple and one father/son team) we often use "Doctor *first name*" when referring to each other. When there are no clients within earshot, we are all (receptionists, office staff, technicians, doctors, etc.) called by our first names.

As for outside of the clinic, I do introduce myself as "Doctor *last name*" when speaking to school children at a career day or college aged students at a job fair. However, in a casual setting in which I am not wearing some kind of professional hat, I just use my first and last name... no title. Should someone ask what I do for a living, I tell them. If they want to start calling me "Doctor" afterwards, that's their decision. But usually (especially in a very casual atmosphere), they just stick with my first name.

As for my family, they will often introduce me as "Doctor *first name*" only because they are insanely, embarrassingly proud of me and try as I might, they won't stop no matter what I say! Ah, family... gotta love 'em!

 

[shelly3girls]

Just a quick funny story...my assistant at work made up bowling teams for our annual work bowling outing to welcome new hires. My assistant did not know the first name of the DH of one of our new hires so she put Mr. Soandso. Instead of adding his first name as everyone else was listed the new hire crossed out Mr. and wrote Dr. This is in a work place where the multi-millionaire partners insist on being called by their first name (or even nicknames). It is the most casual work environment you can imagine and she is writing Dr. on a BOWLING sheet. We still make fun of her to this day.

 

[Forevryoung]

I am getting my masters degree so I am in the University scene, my father is a dentist and my uncle has his PhD in MATH (from MIT no less).

1) Some professors are called by their first name, others are called Dr.lastname. They tell you what they expect. One professor's husband also has his PhD and teaches as well. She made the comment that she walked into a store and a clerk asked how "the professor was" but they refer to her by her first name... she thinks it's rude and sexist.

2) My dad is known as Dr. at work (since I can remember if I am in the office I am supposed to call him Doctor Lastname and not Daddy ) Depending on the situation he will tell people he is a dentist, especially if they have horrible teeth and he offers to fix them.

3) My uncle has NEVER used the term dr... not even on wedding invitations. It's sort of a secret that he even has the degree (If you talk to him you realize he thinks on a different plane )

 

[TammyAlphabet]

I received a Ph.D. in Accounting this year and I like my students to call me Dr. Lastname. Other than that, I am just Tammy.

 

[Stacerita]

if they have earned it and they want to hear it than they are entitled to it.

Exactly. You better believe if I spent that much time and that much money to achive something, you better darn well call me Doc.

 

[Goofyluver]

Unless you are my doctor, I'm probably not going to call you doctor.

 

[Mysteria]

If I have to call you Doctor then you have to call me Queen of the Universe. I'v eearned that right.

Myst

 

[caitycaity]

I guess that's the difference to me; relevancy. I don't mind calling my reverend doctor because he is trained in both divinity and counseling and he plies his trade on every street corner, hospital room, and dinner table from here to eternity. It's harder to justify it for a degree in anthropology or whatever. Does that make sense?

frankly, no that distinction does not make a lot of sense to me. do you go around asking people what their degree is in to make up your mind? where do you draw the line? what professions are worthy and which ones are not? is a person less worthy if they are in academia as opposed to using their degree in another kind of setting? it just seems sort of ridiculous to have so many rules. if someone earned the degree, they have earned the title in my opinion. period.

however, i will say i do not encounter this kind of thing very often. i am a ph.d. student currently. my dad is a professor. 99.9% of my dad's social contacts are also work/professional contacts. they either know him well enough to call him by his first name or the call him dr. lastname because that is how he is usually introduced. however, my dad is rarely in a purely social situation with people who are not already on a first name basis with him.

sometimes other people will insist on calling my dad dr. lastname (i assume out of respect), but it is not how he introduces himself unless they are professional contacts.

on the very RARE occassion that my dad is meeting people that have no professional connection to him, he does not go by dr. lastname. i can't imagine anyone doing that. frankly, though, i can't imagine him going by mr. lastname either.

i will say that i do think if it is a formal situation like a wedding invitation (i am a stickler for getting the titles right for wedding invites) the correct title (dr. for ph.d.'s) should be used.

i am really curious how this came up for you. i cannot imagine someone being introduced to someone on a purely social basis and saying "no, please don't call me mr. last name, call me dr. lastname." i guess because i don't know anyone who socially goes by mr. lastname!

 

[mamatojon]

I think they have earned it, but I do think it is pretentious. If I had a doctorate I think I would only use my title when in professional settings.

 

[dmslush]

When I earn my Ph.d, I'm going to make my dd refer to me as Dr. Mom

 

[Cindy B]

I work at a college so I really couldn't swing a cat without hitting a Ph.D. While students usually refer to their instructors as Dr. So-and-so, colleagues and office staff refer to them by their first name. As far as I know, socially, they're referred to by their first name most of the time, as well.


I've only met one person in an academic setting who insisted on being referred to as Dr. Last Name all the time. He was the President of the college and EVERYONE called him that. As part of his personal office staff, I was allowed to shorten it and call him "Dr. H." Most people weren't even encouraged to do that but we did since we were the ones who knew where all his appointments and files were. His wife called once and asked for Jim and it took me a few minutes to figure out who she wanted.

I used to work at a a college many years ago. I had the same thing with PhD's all over the place.

My boss had a doctorate, and slightly intimidating. Most of her students that called called her Dr. Lastname, or Dr. Lastname Initial but everyone in the office called her Dr. FirstName. I even, as her assistant called her Dr. Firstname.

There was one professor that had recently got her doctorate. Everyone had to call her Dr. lastname after she got it even though previously seh was called by her first name.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

My very first class in college, the professor said that we could call him by his first name, unless his mom was sitting in on class. Then we had to call him Dr. soandso.

I agree that people can be called by whatever they want but that others will get tired of it in a social setting.

 

[Mermaid02]

Sure they do. They earned the title.

 

[arlenesp]

I work in customer service and speak to a multidtude of people daily.Of course if the name comes up with a Dr in front, we must address it that way. What irks me is when there is no indication of such, to be corrected "It's DR......". I have even had an attorney who had the esq. at the end of their name ask me to include it. Now that is pompous! And strange.
Some people have the most inflated egos......
I guess they are trying to impress.I'm not.

 

[ducklite]

My sister, a SAHM for the past two years since her last was born (whatever relevence that has, which IMHO is none) has a PhD in psycology. If the person addressing her is someone who one would normally be famailiar enough with to call her by her first name, then that's what she expects to be called. To expect your next door neighbor to refer to you by a title would be odd IMHO for example.

If it's someone who would normally be expected to use a title and then last name, in most cases she wants to be referred to as "Doctor Smith." An exception would be her kids friends who address her as Mrs. Smith, and a couple of other situtations like that. She does want her kids school teachers to address her as Dr.--a courtesy she likewise uses when addressing them if they are a PhD.

When I send her mail I address it to "Mary Smith," unless it's something like a formal invitation, in which case it would be addressed to Colonel and Doctor Smith, which incorporates my BIL's title as well.

(FWIW, two of my neighbors are MD's. One we refer to by his first name, the other is retired, and even though he introduced himself by his first name, we prefer to call him "Dr. Jones" as he's retired and thus 20 years older than we are, and we just feel uncomfortable calling him by his first name.)

Anne

 

[gina2000]

From Crane's

My father has a Ph.D. does he use "Doctor" on my wedding invitations?

Ph.D. is an academic title that is used only in academic settings. The use of "Doctor" on wedding invitations is reserved for medical doctors and ministers with advanced degrees.

http://www.crane.com/etiquette.aspx?C=WeddingEtiquette&S=WeddingInvitation&I=Invitational_Line

Truthfully, that's what I've always learned and I find the use of Dr. by someone with a Ph.D. to be boorish and attention getting. I know several Ph.Ds and only one uses Dr. at every opportunity. We snicker. It's just pretentious as hell.