Doctor

For this entry I cheated. Rather than complete freewriting, I read the Wikipedia entry for “doctor” to prime my mental pump (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor).

Why are we so fascinated and desirous of the title doctor? Since childhood we have heard one of the most respected members of the community called “doctor”. He may be rich or poor, he may be a close friend or a stranger, but in all cases he is respectfully called doctor. I think this creates an image of respect that we are eager to obtain. In a profession, it also indicates the highest level of learning. It is like the black belt of education.

It was interesting to learn that the title emerged in reference to educators, not in reference to medical practitioners. It was later adopted in medicine and could be used by people who had achieved only a Bachelor’s degree in medicine or surgery. By that standard I hold several doctorate titles (as opposed to degrees) already. This was later supplemented by the requirement to take a postgraduate test to attain the title – similar to the PE or CPA exam.

As I understand it, the legal profession has also begun awarding the doctor title at the completion of a master’s equivalent of study – Doctor of Jurisprudence. In graduate school I lived in a complex filled from law students and can attest that they may genuinely have earned their doctorate in those 3 years that they studied. As hard as I was working to get my MS in Statistics, they were working a lot harder for their degree, and a year longer. I suspect that medical doctors go through the same. So I would not begrudge them the title. But I would maintain that the two degrees indicate a very different understanding and practice of research. A Dr. of most subjects must learn to explore a field in a new way and make a unique contribution. I think this creates a different kind of thinking than diagnosing a disease or a legal situation.

I am looking forward to completing this degree, but I may be a little too reserved to parade the title and degree out in front of all of my colleges. It will go directly on my business cards, wall, and maybe an occasional signature line. But, it will not become part of my personal identity. Perhaps, I think the achievement is more private than public, but certainly something of professional and financial value. I work with a number of Dr.’s and find them to be a great breed of people. Smart, inquisitive, filled with interesting thoughts, and generally self-assured enough to be helpful more than boastful.

After a few centuries, I am really surprised that a higher degree has not emerged. As more people achieve Dr., I wonder if a Master-Doctor or Dr.Dr. will appear? Could it be useful? I know people doing post-doctorate research. But these are usually just students who are in transition between their studies and their professorship. It is a way to begin working in a desirable institution before being placed in a professorial track. It is also a good way to put Dr.’s to work in a research center, but without the requirements to handle classes. The growth of such positions also indicates that there are getting to be more Dr’s than are needed to carry on the educational mission of the country.

I encourage all of my new hires to get a master’s degree. It is no longer the rarity it once was. It is becoming a useful ticket in moving up an organization. Most of them are listening and some of the older workers have noticed it enough to return to earn their own MS after 10+ years in the industry.

Since medical and legal doctorates seem to have been an honorific title adopted by a profession, I think we would do well to extend this practice to mathematics or computer science, it would certainly shorten my path to the title.