Exactly what does it mean when a user puts Dr. in front on their name? Do users have to 'prove' they are entitled to use Dr. in front of their name on Fluther?

I’m pretty sure Dr. J wasn’t a doctor. In other words, the word doctor can be used in areas that have nothing to do with medicine or academia.

I don’t assume that just because someone has Dr. in their user name that that person is a doctor. I’m not a faery.

What’s to prove? Do they have to send their transcripts to Andrew?

For anyone who wants to know if I have an earned doctorate. The answer is yes. I believe my profile summarizes my bona fides.

An earned Ph.D. from an accredited institution of higher learning is a real doctor.

In North America we call physicians with an MD degree “doctor” despite the fact that such a degree is academically equivalent to Masters level degree.

In Great Britain, MDs are called Mr., Ms. or Mrs. unless they have doctoral level academic training.

Ph.D.s from non-accredited institutions or those purchased over the Internet are not entitled to the honorific of Doctor.

I would hope that those who use the title would be willing to indicate their area of expertise and accreditation in the interests of transparency.

I disbelieve practically everything on the internet until proven otherwise.

@Dr_Lawrence That’s actually not quite accurate about doctors in the UK. All medical doctors working in the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK have undergone at least six years of training (comprising pre-clinical and clinical training – although graduate-entry medicine is slightly different in structure), and all are entitled to use the Dr title. People who reach Consultant level in the NHS are referred to as Mr, Mrs or Ms (i.e., at the most senior career level, medical doctors stop using the title Dr, and instead, use Mr, Mrs or Ms as appropriate). What I mean is, no medical doctors in the UK use Mr (etc.) as a title unless they are a consultant (i.e., very senior doctor) – it’s not something that is used by non-qualified people working in medical settings, and it is well understood that when someone uses “Mr” or “Ms” in a medical setting, we know that he or she is a very senior and qualified doctor.

With reference to the question that @YARNLADY posed, I am currently doing a PhD at the moment, which will (hopefully!) end with me becoming a Dr. Having said that, I don’t intend to informally use the title unless particularly relevant to the context at hand (i.e., in academic contexts where knowing someone’s academic credentials might be helpful). My PhD is training for an academic career, essentially training me to become a professional researcher, and whilst I personally feel this is a very worthwhile endeavour, I am uncomfortable with the view that the title is relevant in many areas, or that it would denote any general level of intellectual expertise. I don’t like the idea of people thinking that I might use “Dr” to give my opinions more clout – when I get my PhD, I’ll still be no more an expert than most people at most things, other than in the specific topic of my PhD. Please don’t get me wrong – I’m not insinuating that people who do choose to use their earned academic title are showing off, or trying to appear clever or give more weight to their views, as I completely understand why a title is something to be celebrated and why it can be a helpful and informative thing to know about.

In my case, the title is part of a nickname I was given and adds a sense of irony. One of my friends started to call me Dr. Dredd in med school because all hell used to break loose whenever I was on call and she “dredded” to hear what was going to happen next. Of course, the homage to Judge Dredd didn’t hurt, either. :-)

Yes I believe that prior to any jelly being allowed to utilize the letters D and R. together on their profile and/or username, they should submit a cirriculum vitae along with a copies of their dissertation (in the case of PhD’s) or current medical license. Of course doctors of chiropractic need not apply because everyone knows they aren’t real doctors. I would like to suggest that if there are any doctors here on fluther masquerading as ordinary people (I’m looking at you Shilolo), they show themselves immediately and change their user name to reflect that fact (except chiropractors).~

@reverie Thank you for your clarification. I must admit that the usage is somewhat confusing to me but since I do not need to navigate that system, it is of no great concern.

Ph.D.s in clinical disciplines (Clinical Psychology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Pathology, Radiology, Oncology) whether or not they have earned an MD are encouraged to call themselves Doctor. Ph.D.s in History, Music, Languages, or Religion and other non-clinical disciplines are equally deserving of the title but might be more likely to convey a medical expertise that their education did not provide.

@Dr_Lawrence & @reverie In the UK a surgical consultant has the title Mr. A medical consultant still has the title Dr. This tradition dates back to the time of barber surgeons in the middle ages, as after all a barber does have access to very sharp knives. NEVER refer to a medical consultant as Mr as they will assume you think they are nothing more than an uneducated butcher. Similarly calling a sugeon Dr is a bit of a no-no too.

The title MD is used differently in the UK to in the US. A US MD is the equivalent of a MB BS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) in the UK. An MD in the UK is awarded to a qualifed doctor who has undertaken advanced academic research and is of a similar level to a PhD.

How do we know you are a lady, or whether or not you knit or tell tall tales?

Time out! There is the old joke of “What do you call the guy who graduated at the bottom of his med school class? Doctor!”

This is one of the things that bugs me about Fluther—there are folks on here with more expertise in a given area than you would imagine. Their posts, generally, are viewed in the same regard as the kid who is in tenth grade and doesn’t know shit from shinola. I was not required to post my degrees when I signed up, nor do I look for that from others.

Shilolo has expertise in infectious diseases and I would listen to anything he had to say about infectious diseases very differently than I would listen to a freakin’ dermatologist or plastic surgeon offering opinions on infectious disease. Similarly, I don’t give credence to a real estate attorney giving criminal law advice.

I look at folk’s profiles and send them a PM if I have any questions about the authority behind their answers and still take them with a grain of salt without independent confirmation of expertise. This is NOT an appropriate location to get medical or legal advice.

With that in mind, I don’t care what apparent credentials are incorporated into a user name. However, I do believe that AstroChuck is an astronaut and I won’t even listen to that Postal employee nonsense some of you are spouting . . . .

Podiatrists are people, too.

@dpworkin thank you for taking a stand in favor of podiatrists. It was a brave and noble thing you did.

@dpworkin I’m just sayin’ – you don’t. But I can tell you I know Dr Demento.

I am not… in fact…. a dog.

@Dog you kinda look like one in that picture though.

@Dog Next you’ll be telling me Milo isn’t a cat

@YARNLADY Oh Milo is a cat… He sent me a trophy gold plated mouse candle holder for my 10k celebration. :D

People are dogs, too.

First it’s the doctors, then it’s the blondes.

btw, I can prove that I am blonde ;)

Next it will be the mice.

When they came for the doctors I kept quiet. When they came for the dogs and cats I remained silent. When they came for the blondes I held my tongue. Now they are coming for the mice and I am freaked right out!

Dr Feelgood or Dr Doom, I now know Dr Dredd is real.
But the dogs do win. wags tail

I’m not really a cookie. I just play one on Fluther.

If they have to show proof, you’d have to knit the Bendrim some sweaters! :)

I put this name because I an animal lover and I adore Doctor Doolittle(So yes,the letter D stands for “Doolittle”). I see there’s no rule about how one should make his/her nickname.

I don’t write anything in my profile because I don’t feel comfortable about exposing my personal information to all people around the world. To tell you the truth I don’t believe every words in others profile(I don’t even bother to look at them) as long as there’s no ‘valid’ proof.

I’m not hypocrite and I hope others will understand.

I won’t claim the honorific, even after completing my PhD. Too much chance of people mistakenly believing I have medical credentials.

In Israel, there is a very famous restaurant (ahem) called Dr. Shakshuka.

Now, I have posted my recipe for shakshuka several times in the past. It has even been tried by jellies in far-reaching countries like Australia and I’m told it’s quite delicious.

I think that I, as a result, should be called Dr. Shakshuka. At least an honoris causa .

@zenele You are but one step away from Dr Love Shak . . .

Some of them have most likely doctored their profile.Get it…oh forget it then.

@ucme very droll…

@Lightlyseared Who’s dr. oll? Strange name sounds foreign.

Hmmmm…
Dr. Penis.

I might have to change my name.

@ucme ooooh… you can’t trust those foreign dr’s now can you?

@ChazMaz: I’m thinking “Dr. Schlong”

@jonsblond Can you prove you’re a real blonde? XD

@bob_ My eyebrows are very light blonde, it almost looks like I don’t have any.

OOOOOOh. Eyebrows.