JRSM > Volume 99, Number 7 > Pp. 334

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Letters

Miss, Mister, Doctor: Do surgeons wish to become doctors?

Peter D O Davies

Consultant, Cardiothoracic Centre, Liverpool L14 3PE, UK

E-mail: Peter.Davies{at}ctc.nhs.uk

Soon after my appointment to a consultant post in Liverpool I made a domicilliary visit to a lady who addressed me as Mister. I took it upon myself to give her a short homily as to why I should be addressed as Doctor, pointing out that only surgeons, who were really trumped up barbers, assumed the title Mister on gaining their surgical qualification. Furthermore, I added that the medical or physicians' qualification went back over 2000 years and that the Hypocratic oath forbade us from cutting ‘even for the stone’.

I was rather proud of myself for such a clear didactic account of how we physicinas should be addressed until her daughter came into the room.

‘Let me introduce you to Dr Davies,’ said my patient, ‘he's not a Mr yet.’

Since then I have been content with any title my patients may wish to confer on me.

Footnotes

Competing interests None declared.

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This Article Full Text (PDF) Send a Quick Comment Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Quick Comments are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Davies, P. D O Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Social Bookmarking                      What's this?