WHO SHOULD PREFIX 'DOCTOR' BEFORE THEIR NAME?

Dear Dr. Avinash,

You must have noticd, I clearly supported the argument for the term 'doctor' as per the definition. My last response was only with reference to your confusion about the persons with PhD degree, as you stated "people shud come up with better terms to describe Ph.D. as a Dr before their names creates SEVERE CONFUSION."

Since you showed some doubt about PhD, that is why I stated that as per your own views, even the MBBS should also not call themselves as doctors while the PhD is a clear degree of doctorate granted by the Universities, and MBBS is not a doctorate degree, being merely a Bachelor's degree. Otherwise, accrding to my very first post, I fully supported the terms included in the definition, i.e., even non-MBBS persons treating the people were also considered as doctors. I just made you aware of the real position about the term doctors.

Dear Nagesh,

The question arises, who should never allow using the prefix of 'Dr.' before the name of whom? It is not in your hands, my hands or Dr. Avinash's hands to allow or disallow any one who qualifies as per the set international practices and laws. Only specific legislation of any particular country to this effect can do so. Even Ayurvedic paractitioners, although they prefer to be called Vaids or Hakeems, are also doctors. Doctor is the English translation of the word in all other world's languages used for the person who cures something or preaches to cure bodily or social ills. So, the suffix Doctor is not reserved only for the Allopathic MBBS or MD qualified persons. We should not claim any common thing as our personal property in preference to every other ones.

Dear Dr. Avinash,

Probably you can guess, the Universities which grant Doctor's Degree to the students of medicines or surgery stream and also to the students of the literature stream, are not filled with mere idiots to thoughlessly grant doctor's degree of PhD to the students of literature or management or anything else, if they don't know the real meaning of the word "doctor". In fact, if we sriously think, MBBS is also not a Doctor's degree. It is just a "Bachelor's" degree in medicines, as granted by the Universities. If we think in your terms, only MD's in medicines can be calld as Doctors not even MBBS qualified persons. In that case, keeping in view of your opinion, ethically even MBBS qualified persons can also not use 'Dr.' as a prefix before their names. So, he should better call himself as a physicion and not a doctor.

So, there should not be any confusion why a PhD and MD are equally called doctors. Both of them qualify certain standards of the Universities after proper and rigoous research in a particular field, may that be medicine, literature, management, or any other stream.

A physician—also known as MD,MBBS, or BMed and DO, medical doctor, or simply doctor—practices the ancient profession of medicine, which is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease or injury. This properly requires both a detailed knowledge of the academic disciplines (such as anatomy and physiology) underlying diseases and their treatment—the science of medicine—and also a decent competence in its applied practice—the art or craft of medicine. Both the role of the physician and the meaning of the word itself vary significantly around the world, but as generally understood, the ethics of medicine require that physicians show consideration, compassion and benevolence for their patients.

Seeing the trend which is being followed from last several decades, I think all those persons who are involved in the treatment of patients should prefix "Doctor" before their name. Otherwise even MBBS, MS, BDS, BAMS, BHMS,BPT, etc will not be able to prefix "Doctor" before their names since academically they are not doctorates.