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Can surgeons choose to use the Dr title?

I'v read that it's traditional for surgeons to drop the title of Dr once they become surgeons and use Mr or Mrs. However, i'm wondering if this is a legal requirement? meaning, if a surgeon wants to keep being referred to as Dr and keep that title, is there any law that prevents him from doing so if its he's preference?
I will be training to be a surgeon and I have every intention of retaining the title of Dr. I'm originally Canadian, where of course the title of DR is used by surgeons, and I personally prefer it. I want to be able to keep the title of Dr when i qualify as a surgeon.

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Original post by insert-username
I'v read that it's traditional for surgeons to drop the title of Dr once they become surgeons and use Mr or Mrs. However, i'm wondering if this is a legal requirement? meaning, if a surgeon wants to keep being referred to as Dr and keep that title, is there any law that prevents him from doing so if its he's preference?
I will be training to be a surgeon and I have every intention of retaining the title of Dr. I'm originally Canadian, where of course the title of DR is used by surgeons, and I personally prefer it. I want to be able to keep the title of Dr when i qualify as a surgeon.


If you are in the UK you will use Mr. if you return to Canada you will use Dr. Its a courtesy title nothing else.
Reply 2
Original post by insert-username
I'v read that it's traditional for surgeons to drop the title of Dr once they become surgeons and use Mr or Mrs. However, i'm wondering if this is a legal requirement? meaning, if a surgeon wants to keep being referred to as Dr and keep that title, is there any law that prevents him from doing so if its he's preference?
I will be training to be a surgeon and I have every intention of retaining the title of Dr. I'm originally Canadian, where of course the title of DR is used by surgeons, and I personally prefer it. I want to be able to keep the title of Dr when i qualify as a surgeon.


Don't think it's an official law anywhere that I'm aware of. The tradition in the UK would be for you to be a Mr/Ms and a lot of your juniors/patients would probably still use that by default, but if you want to call yourself Dr, you can.
I'm sure you could if you wanted to - what would be stopping you?

I definitely don't think there's a law against it!
Reply 4
Original post by insert-username
I'v read that it's traditional for surgeons to drop the title of Dr once they become surgeons and use Mr or Mrs. However, i'm wondering if this is a legal requirement? meaning, if a surgeon wants to keep being referred to as Dr and keep that title, is there any law that prevents him from doing so if its he's preference?
I will be training to be a surgeon and I have every intention of retaining the title of Dr. I'm originally Canadian, where of course the title of DR is used by surgeons, and I personally prefer it. I want to be able to keep the title of Dr when i qualify as a surgeon.

Can only married women become surgeons? :wink:
Reply 5
Surgeons practising as surgeons are surgeons, not doctors. Much like consultants are consultants, not doctors. The title of doctor is a courtesy title for when you're practising as a... doctor.
Reply 6
Original post by LukeyJB
Surgeons practising as surgeons are surgeons, not doctors. Much like consultants are consultants, not doctors. The title of doctor is a courtesy title for when you're practising as a... doctor.


So what title do consultants in your world use?
Original post by LukeyJB
Surgeons practising as surgeons are surgeons, not doctors. Much like consultants are consultants, not doctors. The title of doctor is a courtesy title for when you're practising as a... doctor.


...what?
I suspect that if you keep the title of Dr when you are a surgeon then in most parts of the UK doctors who don't know you will just presume you haven't passed your FRCS yet. If you plan to remain in the UK it seems odd to prefer to use another country's conventions regarding titles. If you return to Canada then it makes sense to use their system.
Reply 9
Original post by Chief Wiggum
I'm sure you could if you wanted to - what would be stopping you?

I definitely don't think there's a law against it!


If Chief Wiggum says it's okay then it must be fine :biggrin:

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Original post by taysidefrog
I suspect that if you keep the title of Dr when you are a surgeon then in most parts of the UK doctors who don't know you will just presume you haven't passed your FRCS yet. If you plan to remain in the UK it seems odd to prefer to use another country's conventions regarding titles. If you return to Canada then it makes sense to use their system.


I thought people tended to use Mr after passing the MRCS?

Anyway, surely if there was a consultant surgeon calling himself "Dr X", people wouldn't assume he hadn't passed all his exams?
It would be great if doctors in working-class areas could title themselves "Boss."
Original post by insert-username
Exactly what does that highlighted sentence mean? Genuinely confused as to the point you're trying to make there?


:colone:

After my FY1 and FY2 I will be applying for both specialist surgery training posts/residencies in both UK and Canada to keep my options open. Obviously I will be using the title Dr if practice in Canada, my question only relates to whether or not i'll be allowed to keep the title of Dr as a qualified surgeon in the UK. I wasn't sure if it was a legal requirement for surgeons to use 'Mr' instead of 'Dr'.


I don't think I'm mistaken but you're an applicant right? Might want to tone down the confidence a bit...

If you practice as a surgeon in this country, I don't think there's any rule against you using the title "Dr", but it would be a very odd thing to do. Almost like a GP insisting that s/he be called Mr/Ms as if they were an MRCS/FRCS holder. It's just weird, why would you want to do it?
Original post by insert-username
As for why I want to use the term Dr, its simply a preference. I really don't see the point of getting a medical degree to get the title of Dr only to drop it once you qualify as a surgeon. Dr is a more respected title and a more internationally used for surgeons around the world, as far as i know the UK is the only country with the tradition of having surgeons not use the title of Dr. It just means that if I qualified as a surgeon in the UK for example and then later chose to move to canada or some other country to practice at a later date then i wont have to explain difference it title etc.

Most people do a medical degree in order to be eligible for the job that comes afterwards, not because of any titles. (If it was for the title, it should be fairly hollow, given that it's not based on a doctoral thesis and is, therefore, the subject of mirth for those who actually did a doctorate.)

A decent chunk of the U.K. population thinks that all consultants, surgical and medical, are given the title Mr, so "If you're booked in to see Mr <insert name>, that must mean you're getting the top dog". If anything, Mr grants more kudos and respect, which is amusing, both because of your interest in titles and the idea that surgeons are more deserving of kudos.

If you do become a surgeon in the U.K. and insist on being addressed as Dr... well, I'd like to be a fly on the wall.
I do know of a few obs & gynae consultants who have kept Dr. But no general surgeons or awfulpods.
Original post by Helenia
I do know of a few obs & gynae consultants who have kept Dr. But no general surgeons or awfulpods.


and the reverse with FCEMs who have become FCEM by conversion from the old FRCS (A+E)...
It's really kicking off on here! :s-smilie:

To be honest though: OP, if the title "Doctor" really means that much to you, then don't come to the UK for surgical training. It's really as simple as that. The title of Mr or Mrs will earn a huge amount of respect for any doctor in this country because they have qualified as a surgeon. We might be one of the only countries in the world to do this, but it's all down to tradition and has no bearing on how patients or colleagues will see you. Most patients already know that they are being treated by a doctor with the highest qualifications if they go by Mr or Mrs. I'm not sure why the "Doctor" title means so much to you...?
...Or you could get a PhD.
Original post by Lyrical Prodigy
...Or you could get a PhD.


I hope people don't get a PhD just because "well then i can be called Dr. for sure!"
Original post by Okorange
I hope people don't get a PhD just because "well then i can be called Dr. for sure!"


Well you actually have to have brains to get a PhD, if you're competent enough to start and then complete it, you're competent enough to know what its for. Would be quite strange to go through all that work for the sole purpose of just being called a Dr! :lolwut:

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