There certainly is. In fact, nowadays, you bump into "doctors" whenever you engage in a wide range of regular activities. Sometimes a "doctor" or two will even lecture you via your car radio. All of this "doctor" business makes me r
oll my eyes in disbelief.
To begin, the National Science Foundation estimates that American colleges and universities award about 45,000 PhD (pardon me if I do not punctuate these titles) degrees, but that is only the tip of the iceberg, to use a trite expression. I assume the NSF gathers data only from accredited universities. But what about doctorates awarded by non-accredited colleges, a.k.a. "diploma mills"? Those persons who attend such institutions certainly have a certificate to hang on the wall, but are they real doctors? Hmm.
This "doctor" business is further complicated by the fact that pharmacy schools now award DPharm (Doctor of Pharmacy) degrees, rather than the traditional BS in pharmacy. Also, law schools now award JD (Juris Doctor) degrees rather than the more traditional LLB (Bachelor of Laws).
Business schools award DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) and DM (Doctor of Management) degrees, and that also bothers me. In my view, professors at business schools should be persons who have succeeded in the corporate world, rather than just lunkheads who have accumulated diplomas.
Radio personality Laura Schlessinger is also a "doctor" of sorts. She does have a PhD in physiology, but that has nothing to do with her radio program, which appeals to stay-at-home moms who think they need guidance in ethics or interpersonal affairs, or both. I suspect Mrs. Schlessinger clings to the "doctor" title because it implies (falsely) that she has been trained in the healing arts. Oh well.
My rules about the "doctor" title are simple:
- A person who earns a PhD from an accredited university and who is engaged in research should be addressed as "doctor" in an academic setting, but not elsewhere.
- A person trained in the healing arts (MD, DDS or DVM) should always be called "doctor," regardless of the setting.
- Pharmacists and lawyers are never referred to as "doctor."
- Laura Schlessinger is Mrs. Schlessinger, not "Doctor Laura."
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