There is an entire history and a long simmering resentment amongst many physicians about who can “rightfully” call themselves a “doctor.” News organizations play into this by having their own rules when they’ll refer to a medical or mental health professional as a doctor, and when they won’t. To me it’s all just largely-meaningless titles. But to some, they have real issues with someone calling themselves a doctor if they don’t have an M.D.

So I was happy to read The MedFriendly Blog tackle this issue yesterday. There’s such a pecking order, especially in the medical establishment, that suggests that even M.D.’s like psychiatrists aren’t “real” doctors, it can make your stomach churn. Who cares?

To me, a physician who cares about such things and denigrates their fellow healthcare professionals shows their real character and what they care about more than anything else. We’re all in this together — to help the patient or client. Let’s put such pettiness about titles aside and show our fellow colleagues some simple respect. Surely there are more important issues we face in this world than poking fun at someone’s title, no?

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 9 Nov 2007
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.