Calling Someone Doctor

First, I have two friends who have their doctorates (non-medical) which I lovingly call Dr. (last name) because they worked really hard to get them.

1. Yes.
2. I would follow their lead when it comes to titles. If someone introduces themselves as "Dr. Brown", that's what I'll call them. If they introduce themselves as "Cynthia", I'll use that. Not unprofessional-- esp. nice in the medical business that someone is trying to build relationships. However, when I call for scheduling, etc. I'll always use the full title (Dr. Brown) or when talking to other medical staff about that doctor.
3. Absolutely not-- but if I knew they were a doctor, I would use that title and not revert to Mr/Mrs/Ms. to begin with.

I think anyone holding a doctorate deserves the title!
I remember thinking it was soooo cool that my grade school principal was Dr. Phillips!

1. yes!
2. if they choose to use their 1st name, then I would equally feel free to use their 1st name when speaking with them. When referencing the person to mutual friends, I would use the 1st name. When speaking to non-mutual friends, I would use Dr.
.....2nd part of #2. this would not feel unprofessional to me! It's their personal choice, & part of respect is to honor their choices. :)
3. absolutely not! If I made an error, then they are fully-justified in correcting me. How else would I learn of my error?

They earned the right to be called Dr.

1. yes very comfortable
2. if they introduce themselves by first name only, I follow thier lead and call them by thier first name, except when introducing them to others. I would introduce as Dr So&So and let them give the person permission to use 1st name. If they use thier 1st name, I do not consider that unprofessional, just maybe humble.
3. It would not bother me to be corrected politely.

1. Yes

2. I would probably call that person "Dr. First Name"

3. No, it wouldn't bother me

My husband's psychiatrist (who is our marriage counselor) is "Dr. Last Name" to us. Our family therapist, who is a psychologist, is "Dr. First Name" or just "First Name." The nutritionist is "Dr. First Name" and my chiropractor is "Dr. Last Name." I don't even think about it...it's all in how each practitioner introduces or markets him or herself. For example, the nutritionist is also a chiropractor but her web site and other materials refer to her as Dr. First Name so that's what we use while the other chiropractor's materials use Dr. Last Name so that's what we call him. Same with the two mental health professionals...one refers to himself as Dr. Last Name and the other as First Name.

i wouldn't feel uncomfortable addressing them by 'doctor.' they've earned it, right? but i'd follow their lead. if they intro-ed themselves by first name, that's what i'd use.
i'd probably do a silent mental eye-roll if i were corrected, but i wouldn't do anything but smile politely and accede.
khairete
S.

1. Sure. You got your doctorate. You deserve to be called Dr! I worked for a principal who had her doctorate in education of some sort. She did NOT go by "Mrs. Brown" but rather "Doctor Brown."

2. I guess it would depend on if they are older than me or not, or how they referred to themselves. So I might call Dr. Brown "Mary" the first time I meet her if that's how she introduced herself, but I would listen to how others refer to her "Mary" or "Dr. Brown". Eh MAYBE unprofessional, but someone wants you to call them what makes them COMFORTABLE ..... so they perhaps prefer to be called Mary instead of Dr. Brown.

3. In High School I had a teacher (with a doctorate) who we called "Mrs._" and she corrected us. At the time I thought she was Ms. High and Mighty. But as an adult, I see now that she worked hard and wants to be called Dr, so be it. No I would not be bothered. Depending on the person's personality I may find it odd/pushy. But if the business card said "DR Mary Brown" and the sign on the door said "DR BROWN" then I would likely have never called them Mr./Mrs. to begin with!

Added after reading an answer below: We see a PA (Physicians Assitant) and I do not feel comfortable calling her Andrea even if she is younger than me. I call her "Dr. Andrea" or "Dr. Smith" to my 4 yr old. Because to my son, she is to be respected and I don't think he should call her by her first name.

As my mother said when she got her PhD in clinical psychology...
"I didn't spend this long in school, do this much research and roll this many peanuts across the floor with my nose to be called Mrs. I earned the title!"

If you know someone has a doctorate, always call them Dr. to start. If they correct you and tell you to call them x, then use that.

1. Absolutely- they went to school and earned the title.
2. If they introduce themselves by their first name, then that is what they want to be called, so I would call them by their first name. I don't think it makes them unprofessional.
3. If we were in a professional setting, then no, I wouldn't be offended if they corrected me. My last name is easy, but also easily mispronounced, and I have no problem correcting people when they pronounce it wrong-same thing to me.

Both of my parents are PhD's and my mom always uses "Dr." as her title in a professional setting. My dad, on the other hand, never does and half of the people that know him don't have a clue of his education- and he's fine with that. Its all personal preference.

1. If the person in question has earned a doctorate degree, then they are, in fact, a doctor albeit not a medical doctor, but a doctor none-the-less.

2. If upon first introduction they actually said, "Please call me Sam," then that's exactly what I would do. It does not make them any less professional just as someone who prefers to be called Dr. Smith or, in the case of one of my previous employers, Mr. Turner, does not make them appear more professional in my opinion.

3. No, if I mistakenly called someone Mr. or Mrs. when their actual title should be Dr. I would certainly not be offended upon being corrected.

If the person as a doctorate degree then I have no problem calling them Dr. So and So. The exception being lawyers with a juris doctorate. I don't call lawyers doctors.

I would not consider a person unprofessional simply because they introduced themselves as John Strusselcake instead of Doctor John Strusselcake. If I were meeting this person in a professional capacity I would probably go with Dr. Strusselcake. If I were meeting this person on the playground then I would go with John.

I would probably be slightly annoyed if John corrected me if we were meeting casually. In that case, his degree doesn't matter to the situation or to me personally so I see no need for correction.

I work in sales in the OBGYN market so I am mainly dealing with MDs. Previously I was in cancer research where they were MD/PhDs or Phds. Most of the PhDs I have worked with always say "please call me XX" so I did, same for pharmacists. I never found PhDs THAT hung hung up with the "doctor" title.

Now that I work with mostly physicians, I almost always call them Doctor so and so...even if I have a great relationship with them. If I was corrected, I wouldn't feel bad but I would get it right in their eyes next time.

I admit I'm curious why you asked and what circumstances brought this up.

I would be fine calling that person doctor if that is what he or she prefers. If the person introduced him or herself by first name I would use the first name, and no, that would not affect their professionalism to me; I would just know he or she was a casual sort of person, but that doesn't make the person less knowledgeable. If I were corrected and told to call the person doctor, it might grate IF that person had just introduced him/herself by first name! But if the relationship were a last-name one, I would want to use the title that person desired.

Sometimes there is another reason for a person not wanting to use the Dr. title. My husband has a science doctorate (not medical in any way) and is very proud of it, but does not like to be called Dr. Surname just because he is a low-key, casual person, and also because he works closely with many medical doctors and does not want any confusion between himself and them.

1. I wouldn't feel uncomfortable calling that person "Doctor".
2. If they introduced themselves by their first name only, I would call them by their first name. When introducing yourself that is the time to let the other person know what you would like to be called. For me it would make them unprofessional in my eyes.
3. I would be bothered if the person politely corrected me. I tend to call them by the name they introduce thyself to me by or what name is on the door/ desk/ business cards/ name tag. If they don't see fit to use their title in an introduction or on the door/desk/ business cards/ name tag, then I don't think I should be corrected when they haven't made it known to me that they have a doctorate.

My friend is a chiropractor when I make an appt with his receptionist I call him Doctor ______ when I talk with him, I call him by his first name (but he is a friend). So yes I use the Doctor prefix.

Yes, they are a doctor of something, it is their proper title.

If they came up to me and said "HI Mrs. Jones, I am John, How can I help you today?" then he is telling me what he wants to be called. If he came in the room saying I am Dr. John Smith then he would be telling me to call him Dr. Smith.

Normal people only call someone older or in an authority position Mr. or Mrs. I call my bosses Mr and Mrs but everyone else who comes in contact with them call them by their first name. They have never mentioned me calling them anything else.

Our grandson's psychologist is called by her first name by us because when we first met her it was through the County Health Department, she was teaching the Parent Child Interaction Training class and she was working on her PhD at that time. Now that she has graduated she is a Doc but it feels odd to call her Dr. anything. She has told us it is fine to call her by her first name, but we DID ask her what her preference was. She is in a new office and something status and respect of co-workers is gained by how people treat you.

I think if you are in doubt about what to call someone then ask them.

Our nurse practitioner is not a doc but when I say we are going to see her it's always "You have a doctor's appointment" not "You are going to see Jane". I asked her nurse what her preference was and she told me everyone called the nurse practitioner by her first name.

1. Yes.
2. Not necessarily. I would probably ask what he/she preferred to be called.
3. It probably would bother me if I were a person to take it upon myself to say that when they let me know what they wanted to be called. I am not that person, though. I call people what they ask to be called, unless it's a weird nickname or a self-given title.

A doctorate is an earned degree that carries an automatic title, whether or not that person is even working in that field. It's not a matter of someone's opinion; it's a fact. A person has the right to establish professional boundaries by using the earned title associated with that profession. It's not mandatory, but the person with the degree gets to set the tone. The patron who isn't comfortable with it should go elsewhere.

If they went to school to get the degree then they have EARNED the right to be referred to as Dr. Period. It is rude to refer to them otherwise, you allow them to correct you DOWN, not up. Would you like to be called by the wrong title after you worked for YEARS to earn it?

People working in the professions you mention, that all require doctorates, should be referred to as "Dr." If they introduce themselves to me with their first name, that I see as permission to call them by their first name. If someone corrects me, I would change the way I address them. I don't think that would bother me as long as the title they request I use is accurate.

I am completing my doctorate in I/O Psychology. I doubt I will be referred to as "Dr." in my work because I intend to work in the corporate world. The title Dr. is more commonly used in medicine, or in academia.

I have my doctorate and it's something I did for me, for my education. I don't need others to call me doctor. In my opinion, that's pompous and arrogant. It's essentially saying, I'm smart and you should know that by calling me Dr. So-and-so. My husband is a lawyer, with a juris doctorate degree, yet no lawyer asks to be addressed as doctor.

To answer your question, no I wouldn't feel comfortable calling those people you named doctor. I don't think it's unprofessional for them to introduce themselves by their first name only. And if they corrected me for calling them Mr. or Ms. instead of Dr., yeah, I'd be annoyed.

My best friend received her doctorate in Education. She is the principal at my daughter's middle school. I have been best friends with her for 25 years. When I am at her school, I still address her as "Dr. Ray" when I see her. She earned the title and I feel she deserves that respect.

if they have a doctorate level degree then I would certainly refer to them as dr- I am not sure if I would call my pharmacist dr though............

If you are the patient/client, call them by their title unless they instruct you otherwise. They've earned that right, just as I have earned the right to be called Mrs.

I only call my husband Doctor when I am mocking him for a bad lifestyle choice he is making, or for pretending that he can't do something simple like operate our DVD player.

I call all of my husband's physician colleagues "Dr" so and so, unless we are just out for dinner or something. If I see them in a professional setting, I ALWAYS use their title.

If their title is dr, you call them dr! If they are a dr and introduce themselves as linda, I'd call her dr. Linda! It's important etiquette and they worked hard to earn it. I would not be bothered if they corrected me, more embarrassed.

My husband has a PhD in Physics and he has people call him by his first name. But that is him - he thinks it's pretentious and likes to be informal. If someone introduced themselves as Dr. So and So that is what I would call them. If they said call me Karen. I'd go with their first name. If I called them by Mr or Mrs and they corrected me I would not be bothered by it. I know plenty of women PhDs who get less respect than their male counterparts and I know some of them prefer to be called Dr. I say, more power to them! They earned that respect I think.

I have had that happen before with someone that was not even in the medical field in any way but had a doctorit in something. It's a respect thing. Some demand more respect than others. I think it's silly in some cases. Try not to get too offended if they correct you it's just an ego thing for them. Now in the medical field if they give you their first name only that's what you have to go by.

I always admired PhDs and EdDs who referred to themselves only by first name and then later realize too that they were Dr.s. I think it is way too that they were not that self-involved.

I do work with many doctors who are not medical doctors and yes, I call them doctor. They are doctors! If they introduced themselves by their first name, I would call them by their first name and not think them unprofessional. I would consider them to be down-to-earth. It would not bother me if they corrected me; I would probably be embarassed.

My husband is a chiro and also has a very cool fist name. He works on a Navy base so most of the people call him Doc. :)

When he was in private practice half of his patients called him Dr. Shannon half called him by his first name Storm.

He didn't care one way or another. It's weird for me to hear people call him Dr. LOL I was there WAY before he earned that title. When I really want to irritate him, I call him Quack McCracken.

I would feel fine calling someone doctor.
I would call someone however they introduced themselves. No, I wouldn't see it as unprofessional, just a preference
It wouldn't offend me if the correct me, but I might be inclined to think they are a little snobbish. :)

I would only call them doctor-I would use their first name if that is what they want me to use, it would not reduce their esteem in my eyes and I would not feel bothered by being politely corrected!