Customer quote of the day: "FUUUUUUUUUUCCCCC-- FAAHHHHHHH#~!"

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

From now on, please call me Irving Patrick Freleigh, DCBS

(Doctor of Customer BitchSlappery)

[Jay 2K Winger]

And Tiffany Aching is from Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Men and a couple other books.

Yes, but Tiffany, Preston, and "conundrum" come from I Shall Wear Midnight.

[Captain Trips]

I always thought it was <title><full name><specialization> so Dr. John Smith, DDS indicates he's a dentist, while Dr. John Smith, DTh would be a highly educated preacher.

My brother-in-law is Dr. <firstname><lastname>, ME which is NOT a Medical Examiner (in his case, thought it would apply for someone else.) He's a doctor of mechanical engineering. (My Jewish mother got her wish - my sister married a doctor!)

So, Dr. John Smith, John Smith MD, and Dr. John Smith MD are all correct usages of the title/specialization. The differences and "right vs. wrong" therefore must be regional differences, and as such really shouldn't matter. So, to those that complain it isn't how they think it should be, I have nothing but pity for their ignorance. (Of course, if they weren't ignorant about it, they wouldn't complain and you'd have nothing to post!)

[EricKei]

In a sense it sounds like saying "ATM machine" ....

...or "PIN number"...

In my opinion, Dr. is a title of respect ...
Using both is redundant and likely also pretentious.

^-.-^

Agreed on all counts. "Doctor Strangelove" verbally or in reference to the person; " "Strangelove, MD/PhD/XYZ" when written out in a directory or as their John Hancock or something like that.

[Andara Bledin]

In my opinion, Dr. is a title of respect for when someone is introduced. It indicates that they've earned a doctorate and nothing more.

When you have a directory listing, you'd have the alphabet soup at the end, which indicates what type of doctor a person is.

Using both is redundant and likely also pretentious.

^-.-^

[Tama]

In a sense it sounds like saying "ATM machine" ....

[Sapphire Silk]

Surely a medical doctor HAS to use MD after his name? Otherwise some panicking relatives of a sick person might ring doctors (of Philosophy, for example) only to be told that from a solipsist view of reality their relatives only exist as an apparently outward manifestation of their own imagination, so there is no need to panic as their sick or injured relative does not actually exist - and nor does the doctor they are currently talking to!

First of all, bear in mind the title "Doctor" has nothing to do with the practice of medicine. It is an academic title that means you have completed a specific program of graduate education. In the case of medicine, there are two recognized programs; graduates of schools of medicine are granted the degree Medical Doctor (Doctorate of Medicine or MD), while graduates of schools of osteopathy (which in the modern sense is nearly identical to medical school) are granted the title Doctor of Osteopathy (DO). Both are eligible to take the Medical Boards to gain a license to practice medicine. Their professional title is physician.

That's why you see the title Doctor in other academic programs: from physics to psychology to history, most post Master's programs are Doctorates of Philosophy (PhD). There are other types of doctors: JD (Doctor Juris), DSc (Doctor of Science), etc.

In my profession, I could earn an advanced degree of a PhD in Nursing, DSc in Nursing, or DNP (Doctorate of Nursing Practice). I would have every right to insist on being called Doctor Panacea. However, physicians are having trouble dealing with the idea of anyone who is not an MD or a DO being called Doctor in a health care setting (in spite of the fact, they have no problem with psychologists, probably because they don't see hospitalized patients). My professional title is still Nurse Panacea, though it is unusual for nurses to use it these days. I write and sign my name Panacea, RN. I never write it Nurse Panacea, RN. It's pretentious. Same for medical doctors. You use one or the other, not both at the same time.

[Andara Bledin]

How to you get something stamped after a non-existant deadline?

It's just a date stamp. It proves that the papers were ready by that date. You could probably get it on something completely unrelated, if you really wanted to.

^-.-^

[MoonCat]

SC: "Well, I was just re-reading it, but only after I sent it, I discovered I had inadvertently used an apostrophe on a word that was plural!"
Me: "Huh."
SC: "And I was so deeply embarrased by that that I had to call you immediately to apologize about it!"

This one makes my twisted little heart glad. Take that, 99% of the commenters on CNN!

The rest of those people....nuts.

And Tiffany Aching is from Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Men and a couple other books.

[Raveni]

The latest connundrum to hit the medical industry is whether or not doctors should advertise their name with "Dr." in front, and whether or not they should use their designations.

I see that in my profession all the time. "Professionals" getting upset and writing hate mail or starting internet flame wars over the improper use of designations. Do you really need to berate someone about whether LCAM is a proper designation when they are already certified to have CMCA, AMS, PCAM, and LSM designations?

2 customers who had their application stamped after the deadline and were applying for something for something that did not have a deadline.

How to you get something stamped after a non-existant deadline?

[thansal]

Wait. Wha?
For as long as I can remember it has been Dr. JoeJane Schmo MD - what on earth is the possible reason to change that? Is it because JoeJane Schmo MD sound less formal?

I think have seen Dr. So and So, MD/dds/whatever and Dr. So and So, though the former is much more common. I can understand using either one, I can't understand people getting hung up one one or the other. I was going to say I can't understand people not knowing that MD = Doctor, but then I remembered an old story from my elementary school years of one of my teachers quasi scolding me for knowing all this medical stuff, and that it was unfair because both my parents are Doctors. It took me a while to process this out, as yes, my parents are Drs X and Y, but that's just because they have PHDs in psych, this doesn't imply that they are medical doctors.

that connundrum (love that word btw)

You, Tiffany Aching and Preston

(cookies for the reference)

[Bagga]

Surely a medical doctor HAS to use MD after his name? Otherwise some panicking relatives of a sick person might ring doctors (of Philosophy, for example) only to be told that from a solipsist view of reality their relatives only exist as an apparently outward manifestation of their own imagination, so there is no need to panic as their sick or injured relative does not actually exist - and nor does the doctor they are currently talking to!

[Seshat]

As for the Doctor nomenclature, having the abbreviation after the name (a) implies Dr whatever, and (b) is much more informative than just plain Dr X...

I totally agree.

Seshat GLS.

(Goddess of Library Science.)

[Legal Eagle]

28 customers who carefully had their application stamped, but what they were applying for did not have a deadline.

To be fair guidelines for these kind of things can be very complicated, so when in doubt they played it safe and got stamped anyway. This is clearly a better option than not having it stamped and hoping it doesn't need to be.

[EricKei]

Wherein I feel a sense of comradery with Khiras's customers.
Me: "Uh, well, don't do it again!"
SC: "Oh no, I won't! At least, I certainly don't intend to! I sincerely apologize about that and I am very sorry for any trouble I have caused."

...

You sure showed him, Mango! I'm certain he won't EVER try to pull anything like that again! Excellent work!

As for the Doctor nomenclature, having the abbreviation after the name (a) implies Dr whatever, and (b) is much more informative than just plain Dr X...