Usage of the Term ‘Doctor’ by Residents
Maybe this is just a west coast thing, but here’s essentially the only times residents refer to themselves as “Dr. Suchandsuch:”
- With patients. “Hey there, I’m Dr. Kim. Tell me what brings you to the Emergency Department today?”
- On the phone, when asking/telling someone to do something. “This is Dr. Brenner, could you connect me to the Hematology lab, please?”
- On the phone, returning a page, because often the person that paged you only knows your last name. “This is Dr. Serfass, returning a page?”
- Resident to intern, implying that the intern is qualified as a doctor to make a decision. “I don’t know, Dr. Walker, what antibiotic would you like to give?”
- Resident to resident, using the term friendly and jokingly because of its importance. “I’m good, how are you today, Doctor Kea?
Is there controversy with MD’s calling themselves “Doctor”? Wow.
It’s a professional title, and should be used in professional settings. Maybe stow it when introducing oneself in a casual setting (show off, lol). Otherwise, to show respect for another (ie, attending, senior resident, etc) and in a ‘mixed’ setting (ie, speaking with nurses, techs, visitors, me, etc) one should address a colleague as “Doctor”.
Is this really a problem where you train?
Not a problem at all, I was just commenting on something I noticed. Residents will call *attendings* Doctor, but often attendings prefer to be called by their first name as well.
That’s interesting, but since I haven’t been to the east coast- how is it different there? I don’t like it when people insist on others calling them Dr. something (showoff) in cases where it’s not relevant, like at church or casual settings, nonmedical settings, etc.
Introducing oneself using the title rather than “I am so-and-so, the blah resident” conveys a compelling air of confidence that is crucial in the physician-patient relationship. When patients are about to subject themselves to invasive testing, to prognostic discussions, it eases the burden of figuring out how a “resident” differs from a student or an assistant, and whether they are actually physicians. In other professional settings, it establishes the pecking order and make the system run smoothly.
OK, I admit, on rare occasion, I have identified myself as a Dr. on the phone when trying to get information or a return phone call from some doc and/or doc’s staff. But, it’s used only as a last resort when other methods have failed.
One of my standing jokes is a take off on the old commercial, “I’m not a doctor, but I play one at work.”.
Once the PhD is finished, it will be a truism.