i don't get no respect!

i vaguely recall "mister" outranking "doctor" in the UK, at least in dicken's time, but it still did not prepare me for the following dialog in a c1950 radio drama:

"Hi, I'm John Thompson...from the hospital"
"Hospital?! So is that DOCTOR Thompson then?"
"No, I'm a neurosurgeon" (!)

set in wales but i think yank production. vincent price one of the voices.

so is doctor reserved for PhDs there? or does it include MDs, but for some reason not SURGEONS? they considered some kind of low-level technician in the UK?!

i must say, even among doctors, "neurosurgeon" would be considered one of the HIGHEST categories in the US.

 

My guess is the ego of the individual determines the title they prefer.

My father is a retired college vice-president with a PhD. Although he used "Dr." in his written correspondence with colleagues, he preferred that co-workers called him by his first name - not "Doctor (last name)".

For medical professionals, every one I have ever visited (regardless of specialty) I have addressed as "Dr. (last name)". If a medical professional demanded I address him/her as "Neurosurgeon (last name), I'd go find another doctor based on a suspicion their ego outranks their medical skills.

 

reread the quote -- he's not being egotistical; he's asserting that he doesn't QUALIFY for the title "doctor". in other words, "neurosurgeon" (i think it was "brain surgeon" in the show, actually) is BENEATH a "doctor".

again, i'm thinking back to some era when hoity-toity college profs outranked men in actual practice. just a hunch.

 

I agree with Gman, I read it egotistical.

He replied "No, I'm a brain surgeon"

To me, that is saying "I am not a Doctor, I am a Brain Surgeon" putting himself above the doctor and being insulted by the question.

If he had been saying he's not qualified, he would have said "No, I'm just/only a brain surgeon"

Dunno, but that's how I read it, with some pomposity.
Also remember, people usually title themselves with what they believe is the highest ranking title applicable to them. "Sanitation Technician" = "Janitor/caretaker"
I would say "Neurosurgeon/Brain Surgeon", is a more impressive title than simply "Doctor".

"Doctor Jack Cane"

"Jack Cane, Neurosurgeon"

Wow, I over thought that :-D

 

Well technically, I could be called "Dr.Whatever", since I did my Masters/PhD, even though it was nearly thirty years ago, (my Doctorate was in Pure Chemistry/Applied Physics though, not medicine). Never really use the title, unless I need to cite the initials blurb in a Tech. paper, or whatever. I'm obviously not ashamed of my qualifications, but see no need to brag about them, either. A lot of people that know me don't even know that I have such so-called 'titles'., because I don't see it as relevant in most circumstances.
It's like I'm also a D.C. Nurse, but people don't need to call me "Mr. Sister", anything, LoL. :-D
Neurosurgeons like any medical specialists, have to at least have had a Bachelor's in Medicine, (B.Med.) for some time. They are most always a M.D., (Medical Doctorate) and then go on to specialize. So yeah, a Neurosurgeon is far above a regular Doctor, since he's had to specialize in both Neurology and Surgery. That's why there's not a lot of them around.
I also read the quote as someone who's actually saying he's better than a Doctor, which he probably is if he's a Neurosurgeon.

 

The surgeon who put me back together after my accident is not only a Doctor but also a Professor.
In the hospital when he is doing rounds he never wears a white coat and always introduces himself with the words "Hi i'm Chris the repair man", a number of the other surgeons say he is too informal but his answer is "judge me by my work"

 

errr........ that's just not correct. what category does a D.M.A.(music arts) fall in with that scenario???:confused
DBA??? (business admin):confused
oh and if you encounter someone who demands you use the honorarium - run, piece of :crap most likely

 

It depends on the circumstances. In some settings, like a hospital, it used be used for senior people. It was a time when senior people used junior people's surnames to address them most of the time, or occasionally using their forename if they wanted. I.E. "Culpen, get this man's artery sealed!"

But a senior person in a hospital, like the chief surgeon, would be referred to as Mr. {x}: "Yes, Mr. Fenwick".

People more junior to the junior(ish) people (like Nurses, at the time) would call them Dr.

However, in other circumstances, Mr. could be used as a term of inferiority, like a ship at sea, when Mr. would be used to denote midshipmen as they were not yet qualified as officers.

 

Yeah Collins is right.....A "neurosurgeon" in a hospital situation, would use ( and be called) by the title of "Mr" rather than Doctor.
Although the are technically also Doctors, the title reflects a higher level of training than a "Doctor"

 

Looks like the Md's were last to adopt the title.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Doctor, as a title, originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb docēre [dɔˈkeːrɛ] 'to teach'."


" It has been used as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the first universities. The doctorate (Latin : doceō, I teach) appeared in medieval Europe as a license to teach (Latin : licentia docendi) at a medieval university Its roots can be traced to the early church when the term "doctor" referred to the Apostles, church fathers and other Christian authorities who taught and interpreted the Bible.] The right to grant a licentia docendi was originally reserved to the church which required the applicant to pass a test, to take oath of allegiance and pay a fee."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_(title)

 

thank you, sibeer - finally someone who BELIEVES me!

maybe i didn't set it up right, or maybe context is everything, but i'm telling ya, the guy is not being conceited, he is saying "i'm no doctor -- i'm just a humble brain surgeon". and, again, i vaguely recall (dicken's?) stories where "mister" or "master" was considered higher prestige than "doctor".

so i guess i was right in my assessment that this drama is set in a period when "doctor" would refer to a professor (only). and while the other guy does say "hospital? so is that DOCTOR So-and-so?", i guess he's drawing a distinction between TEACHING surgeon and PRACTICING surgeon.