On 24 Jan 2005 00:35:37 GMT, N2EY wrote:

All can use the title "doctor."

Yes, they can. But most that I know do not *require* it, outside
their field of expertise.

My brother-in-law has a PhD in Physiology (his field of expertise is
geriatic physiology). His "daytime" job is as a profusionist - the
expert who operates the heart-lung bypass machine during open-heart
surgery. For many years he was a professor and then department head
in his field at a famous teaching hospital.

In class, he was "Professor". In academic meetings he was "Doctor".
In the operating room he was "Mister" (he wasn't an MD - he knew too
much for that!) although he was usually referred to by his first
name. And yes, all the docs, including the anesthesiologists, asked
him for advice on how much and what kind of anesthesia to administer.

Heck, even a lawyers can use that title due
their degree being a Juris Doctor ("Doctor of Law").

Yup, I got one of those. AFAIK there are no US law schools which
grant a Batchelor of Laws degree any more.

But they don't usually do that.

Rumor has it that the only place in the US that does is a certain
part of Michigan but I don't have any first-hand info to prove that.

In the Eastern hemisphere lawyers are referred to as "Doctor" but
only if they have the graduate degree (in most countries there law
is an undergraduate degree program).

As an aside, the British do not call American PhD holders "Doctor"
because the attitude there is that the US schools hand the degree
out like candy. In a recent BBC broadcast about Condoleeza Rice,
she was referred to as "Miss Rice" continuously.

Similarly, a dentist there is called "Mister" even though the
coursework and training is as rigorous as that of a medical doctor.

--
73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane