Titles
August 28, 2009 – 1:10 pmIt’s been a while since I’ve truly ranted, so I thought it was time once again. The topic is titles. As in Dr., M.D., J.D., Ph.D., etc.
I’m of the opinion that titles should have no bearing on how we introduce ourselves or call ourselves. I completely understand being called Dr. in the appropriate setting, which naturally is a doctor’s office or hospital. When meeting someone and shaking hands I think we should all simply stick to our names. Nothing more, nothing less.
Or how about on mailing labels (for newspapers or magazines)? Is it really necessary to have your name read: “John Smith, M.D.” or “Dr. John Smith”?
The idea of a title is odd to me. If you study to be a medical doctor (or even complete your doctoral studies) then hopefully you are doing it for reasons other than the title, the prestige, or (only) the money. Through the course of a normal conversation what you do for a living will invariably come up. At that time, you will have ample opportunity to impress on the other person what it is that you do. Other than when talking about your profession, how about sticking to just “John Smith”.
Why are people so concerned with introducing themselves or qualifying themselves with a title? I have some ideas, but there’s no need to get mean about this just yet!
