I am fully aware of the fact that some PhDs are more difficult to achieve than others. A PhD in Physics is more arduous than a PhD in Kinesiology. Does that mean the PhD in Kinesiology doesn’t deserve to use the title? The implication of your argument is that only academically difficult subjects are deserving of the title. Typical reasoning by an pedantic MD. Your critical thinking skills are on par with a 16 yr. old. My wife’s brother in law has a PhD in Chemical Engineering, so I am fully aware of what he went through and what it takes. I can assure you the level of time he put in certainly does not outweigh what I did – not even close.

Oddly enough, despite your rigorous defense of “science,” MDs are generally considered horrid scientists by … guess who? … research scientists. So spare me your sanctimonious defense of science or the “bleeding edge” of its research.

If we were to follow your logic to its inevitable conclusion (of which I know you’re genetically incapable), we would have to allow the use of the title only to those who have demonstrated that their education met the “Jockstrap Standard” of condescending MDs like you.

The glaring irony of all this is that MDs have shared the exact same path as JDs – they both began as undergraduate fields of study and now both are professional doctorates. I wonder if your visceral hatred of JDs also extends to people who hold a Psy.D, DDs, OD, DO, etc.? I have met multiple MDs, like you, who hold MDs but have an IQ in the low 120s. If you didn’t harbor such strong feelings of intellectual inferiority deep down then you wouldn’t feel the need to run down another degree. I guess that’s the only way you can feel superior … ever.

Just say it with me: Howard Dean, MD

As far as using the title, go nuts. I don’t care if the garbage man calls himself “doctor”. It’s not going to change my life. I think of my PhD as a work permit, buried somewhere in a filing cabinet….I think…

Throughout most of the academic world, the term “doctor” refers to an individual who earned a degree of Doctor of Philosophy, or Ph.D. (an abbreviation for the Latin Philosophiæ Doctor; or alternatively Doctor philosophiæ, D.Phil., originally from the Greek Διδάκτωρ Φιλοσοφίας, Didaktōr Philosophias, meaning Teacher of Philosophy), or other research doctorates such as the Doctor of Science, or Sc.D. (an abbreviation of the Latin Scientiae Doctor). Beyond academia and in the classical professions, such as medicine and the law, the professional doctorates emerged such as the Doctor of Medicine M.D. (an abbreviation of the Latin Medicinæ Doctor), or Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery MBBS, MBChB, MB, BCh, etc. (an abbreviation of the Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus et Baccalaureus Chirurgiae), and the Juris Doctor or Doctor of Jurisprudence.

The first academic degrees were all law degrees, and the first law degrees were doctorates. The origins of the doctorate dates back to the ijazat attadris wa’l-ifttd (”license to teach and issue legal opinions”) in the medieval Islamic Madrasahs that taught Islamic law since the 9th century.[3] The foundations for the first European universities were the glossators of the 11th century, which were schools of law that taught Canon law and Roman law.

There’s much more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_(title)

I think anybody who insists on negating somebody elses hard work and education leans toward being a bit of a snob.

And as for the MD and JD degrees being equivalent of a Masters degree, that is just not true. I don’t know any Masters programs that require 90 credit hours past the undergraduate degree. Most are between 30 and 45, with the occasional 60. Maybe a little more depending on the field of study. Our MFT program (at the university where I worked) was 60, while the doctoral degree in the same concentration was 95 post Bac degree.

1) In my experience, anyone who frostily INSISTS on being called “Doctor” is usually a chiropractor, or occasionally an educrat or a PhD university professor. I’ve never in my professional life corrected someone who called me “Mr.” unless it was to clarify things in a medical emergency. We physicians don’t mind sharing the “Doctor” honorific (but are quite jealous indeed about the letters M.D.)

2) The guy who equated the JD with the PhD? You’re insane. Academically, you couldn’t hold my MD jockstrap, much less a hard-science PhD who may have been working at the bleeding edge of research for five or six years to get his degree. Think I’m kidding? Just say it with me: Joe Biden, JD

3) Forgetting to call any kind of doctor “Dr.” is nothing next to forgetting to call a British surgeon “Mr.”

I’m getting ready to start law school, and realize that 90 hours of credit (four years of school in the program I’m attending) IS equivalent to a doctoral degree. So, I will wear the title with pride. Although, since I hate when people adress me as Ms. I probably won’t like to be called Doctor either. I plan to sit for the CA bar, so I guess I’ll have to figure out what goes on the business card once I pass it. Yes, I’m being optimistic as I know many people don’t pass the CA bar.

To M.D.’s who believe that only they should be called doctor. This term was actually appropriated from Ph.D.’s who used it first, and it has been from “teaching” doctorates to other professional doctorates, such as M.D.’s, and, if they choose to use it, J.D.’s, LL.M.’s, and J.S.D./S.J.D’s. (all law degrees.)

So why don’t lawyer’s often call themselves doctors? It is the job of a trial attorney to endear themselves to a jury and make it appear that they are similar. Honorifics, such as Dr. serve to set one apart from others. In appellate work, it would be rediculous, as everyone in the room would likely be a doctor of law. Also, attorneys tend to prefer to indicate more than their advanced education, but also their acceptance to the bar. Hence the title Attorney, is higher than the term “Doctor” in the field of law, just as “Professor” is technically higher than “Dr.” in academia. Because in a purely technical sense it refers only to full professors and not associate professors, etc. In practice, however those titles have been mingled in academia.

People possessing Juris Doctor, or Juris Doctorate (depending on the university issuing it) degrees may refer to themselves as doctor, however, as this is a professional doctoral degree. Normally, however, we do not do so. I have a J.D. and normally never insist on being called doctor. It is nice, however, whenever someone demands that I call them doctor in a vain attempt to show their superiority, that I can make the same demand of them.

Personally, I believe it is appropriate for people possessing J.D. degrees to be referred to as “Doctor”, however once they have gained admission to the bar, the higher honorific is “Attorney”. Many attorneys, for inexplicable reasons choose to refer to themselves as “Counselor” or “Esquire”. These honorifics, however, are less specific than “Attorney.” A high school guidance counselor or a drug counselor can use the title counselor. Anyone may use the title esquire, except for someone who is in law school or has obtained a Juris Doctor degree, but has not passed the bar, as this title does not specifically refer to lawyers, but is misleading when used by others, in violation of the rules of professional responsibility for attorneys. (Which is somewhat binding upon law students, and in some rare contexts binding upon others, such as when they attempt to practice law without a license.)

What we can be sure of is that it is inappropriate to use multiple honorifics indicating the same thing. Hence Attorney XXX, J.D. is inappropriate. Nevertheless, for one with a J.D. and an LL.M., Atorney XXX, J.D., LL.M. is not necessarily inappropriate. While XXX, J.D., LL.M. is a more common usage. (Similarly with a J.S.D. or S.J.D.)

In short, as with many other questions involving attorneys, the question of which honorifics to use is a question of complex interpretation. But a good rule of thumb is, don’t make people call you Dr. unless you are intentionally trying to be a jerk, in which case, it is usually fine. (assuming you aren’t in a state which bans this, or involved in med-mal work)