Maybe he had M.D. after his name like in America for Doctor of Medicine or Medinicae Doctor form Latin, but in this case it must've stood for Mentally Deranged.
Maybe he had M.D. after his name like in America for Doctor of Medicine or Medinicae Doctor form Latin, but in this case it must've stood for Mentally Deranged.
Don't forget Barney Fife MD, Mayberry's Deputy. [bigrolf]
I believe in the UK at least, somebody qualified to the the skill level required to perform surgery (surely more skilled that a bog standard GP) is not even refereed to as 'Doctor'. They are called Mister. Might be the same here.
I think 'doctor' refers to someone who is qualified to prescribe drugs. Cracking joints, handing out Panadol and poking people with clicking gadgets probably doesn't cut it.
In Australia, strictly speaking, the only people entitled to be called "Doctor" are those who have had a Doctorate bestowed on them by a recognised institution (minimum of about 7 years university), plus (as a result of tradition), those who are a registered medical practitioner, who will normally (in this country) hold a double degree, typically MB,BS, plus residency.
Over the last twenty or thirty years there has been a move towards using the title "doctor" by semi-medical professionals, including Dentists, some vets, and alternative medicine practitioners, although these do not usually have the 7-10 years of university that other doctors do. There is no legal basis for this, but apparently no legal restrictions on it either.
Specialist surgeons, with some exceptions, are usually referred to by the title "Mr" even though they normally have the basic medical qualifications plus several more years of training and are registered medical practitioners.
Then there's the Carpet Doctor, Pool Doctor, etc, and my favourite Tree Surgeon. I still think the vets more than deserve the title, as they are not just trained on all types of animals, but are surgeons as well.
Interestingly a long time ago barbers were actually dentists, doctors, and surgeons as well, and I've heard that is why the twisted candy cane striped pole of a barber, is similar to the twisted serpents symbol of the medico's.
The twisted candy stripe was a sign that they were ‘qualified’ to perform blood letting. It was thought that blood letting helped with infections etc. I wonder how many people got infected by the straight edge razor they used to nick the carotid artery[emoji15]
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Then there's the Carpet Doctor, Pool Doctor, etc, and my favourite Tree Surgeon.
Oi, don't forget, "The Tank Doctor" in your list.[biggrin]
Got a BIL who's a "Rock Doctor".
But they are not calling themselves Doctor Carpet, Doctor Pool or Doctor Tree - it is all about where the word Doctor appears.Quote:
Originally Posted by RANDLOVER
Interestingly, my childhood dentist was one of the last who qualified by an apprenticeship rather than a university course. While the academically trained younger dentists looked down on him, I found recently that my current dentist knows of him as the developer of a regularly used procedure that is named after him. It is an unusual name, so it was very likely the same person, but I confirmed this by talking to my dentist cousin, who worked for him for a couple of years after graduation.
Quite a few professions that today require a degree for qualification were apprenticeships (or similar on the job training) until the late nineteenth century or even later. These would include lawyers, accountants, engineers, dentists, as mentioned, and (1970s) nurses.