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#13: What's in a Title?

brynphd.substack.com

#13: What's in a Title?

Calling yourself doctor, colouring chemistry and walking you through patient engagement from start to finish.

Bryn Robinson
Jun 13, 2022
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#13: What's in a Title?

brynphd.substack.com

Found in Knowledge Translation Blog: The Doctor is In?

A regularly scheduled meeting, I logged into the conference call line and began quietly preparing my notes. As a staff member not part of the meeting proper, I was attending to provide insight into projects’ status as needed. Mid-discussion with a committee member, I didn’t want to interrupt the chair, and figured that they heard the telltale “beep” of someone signing on. They would ask who it was in due course.

On this particular day, the chair was feeling especially playful, I suppose, and greeted each new attendee to the call by their title - doctor. So when they asked if they missed anyone, I replied that “Dr. Robinson” was also on the call.

“…Who?”

- “Dr. Robinson.”

“…Oh! It’s Bryn.”

- “My apologies, I thought we were being formal today,” I said with a little laugh.

A few beats of silence, then the meeting opens.

Awkward Silence GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

Yeah, But Are You a Real Doctor?

Phd GIFs | Tenor

Well, if the question is, “Can you prescribe drugs?”, then the answer is, “No.” This is a common enough question, but one’s response to it has become the prevailing criterion for judging “doctorness”. That is, the honorific “doctor” should be reserved for physicians because it is less confusing for patients. The Canadian Stylebook supports this position, noting the concern of potentially misleading patients by presenting your friendly neighbourhood epidemiologist as a doctor.

Now, some find this style choice problematic. After all, the origin of the word doctor is from the Latin verb docere, meaning “to teach”, and as purveyors of knowledge historically, those granted PhD were thus called doctors. In fact, Finnish universities double down on the meaning of the root word by having minted PhDs attend convocation with not just a top hat, but a sword:

The Doctor's Sword is a symbol for the scientist's fight for what he or she, in rigorous research, has found to be good, right and true.

Twitter avatar for @JohnHolbein1
John B. Holbein @JohnHolbein1
This is your periodic reminder that the graduation regalia for PhDs in Finland is a top hat and a sword.
Image
Image
4:56 PM ∙ Feb 25, 2022
2,063Likes202Retweets

That makes knowing a bunch of stuff far less nerdy, and far more metal, IMHO.

It was only in relatively recent history (~ 1700s) that medical schools began calling their graduates doctors. When it then became the inverse, such that the (grossly paternalistic) argument now is that “patients will be confused”

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if anyone non-medical is permitted to use the title, is uncertain (at least in my cursory research).

Fix Me a Coffee, Would Ya, Sweetheart?

Despite lacking both fancy hat and weapon of wisdom, I did get a PhD in 2010. And aside from creating an email account and Twitter handle, I rarely used it.

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But in the last two years, I have become more purposeful in wielding it when the case (in my mind) can be made. This was highlighted to me when, sitting with my morning coffee a few days ago, I logged into Twitter to find that my mentions a-bubbling:

Twitter avatar for @BeneFactumGames
Alex Weldon @BeneFactumGames
Don't think I've ever seen a good take on Twitter from someone who puts their credentials directly in their screen name and/or handle. (Dr., PhD, "author of...", CEO, whatever)
10:42 AM ∙ Jun 11, 2022
Twitter avatar for @MarkDykeman
Mark Dykeman @MarkDykeman
@ssmgirl2012 @cr8tiveCandy @BeneFactumGames I greatly value the opinions and intelligence of @brynphd @tara_taylor and @drcherylmac but I do think are a lot of credential waving charlatans out there.
11:05 AM ∙ Jun 11, 2022

The responses came in quick succession, with women in particular noting that they started putting it in their online profiles in response to continued misogyny, i.e., the lack of recognition for skill because they possessed different anatomy.

Did I mention the conference call earlier was all men except me?

Twitter avatar for @tara_taylor
Dr. Tara Taylor @tara_taylor
@MarkDykeman @ssmgirl2012 @cr8tiveCandy @BeneFactumGames @brynphd @drcherylmac Thank you. I put the Dr. In my handle in solidarity with other female and non-binary academics who have been disrespected- like called by their first name when male colleagues are referred to as Dr.
12:05 PM ∙ Jun 11, 2022

There was a particular surge in similar Twitter profile revamps (mine included) following an odious opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal about Dr. Jill Biden, the First Lady and a holder of a doctorate in education.

I’d like to note at this point that OP’s take was not a misogynistic one, and we all had a positive and productive conversation in the ensuing thread.

Twitter avatar for @BeneFactumGames
Alex Weldon @BeneFactumGames
@MarkDykeman @tara_taylor @ssmgirl2012 @cr8tiveCandy @brynphd @drcherylmac No worries, and it's true that my tweet was in fact overly general and that I'm usually more precise. Just woke up grumpy and first thing I saw was yet another mind-bogglingly awful tweet by a Dr. So-and-So account. Glad the conversation is proving fruitful, anyway.
1:37 PM ∙ Jun 11, 2022

I agree with him that there is a problem with people positioning themselves as experts in less than ethical ways. Indeed, some people abuse the power of expertise to their own personal gain. (You only need to look to New Jersey Florida Pennsylvania to see one glaring example of snake oil sales.)

Adding One Voice to the Choir

The issue of disrespect is not unique to women with PhDs; many female physicians have stories where they are assumed to be working in “traditional” healthcare roles associated with having a vagina (i.e., nurse, administrative assistant). Implicit in this assumption is that these “lady roles” are easier, of course, for our simple minds.

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Eyeroll GIFs | Tenor

Outside of a handle in the online world, I don’t usually advertise the fact that I am a masochist engaged in several years of intense academic development. I never really used to refer to myself as Dr. Robinson. People get my respect because of their character, not due to a few letters pre- or post-name, and I would hope that they do the same for me. After all, we all put on our pants the same way.

What I’ve learned over recent years, though, is that there are situations where it makes sense for me to use it a little more liberally, and, well, isn’t that the definition of privilege? My decision to use the title comes from a place where I can afford to brush off the odd ignorant comment because I have other pathways open to me as a middle-class, white, cis-gendered woman. It doesn’t make those comments acceptable, but it’s certainly not to the extent, nor with the frequency, that others receive similar comments.

So if adding my title online, or in a particular conversation, can contribute to changing the environment and maybe even helping people see more women as experts in STEM, well, I’m happy to do so.


#HowToDoPtEngagement

There’s a lot of great resources shared on Twitter for engaging patients in research, but it can be overwhelming to know where to start. Last week, I took a hypothetical researcher new to patient engagement through the planning of a research project, and identified key resources at different steps of the project.

Twitter avatar for @brynphd
Bryn Robinson, PhD @brynphd
Researchers! Do you want to work w #PatientPartners? Then let’s get started. In this 🧵, I’ll take you start to finish, and share some resources I’ve bookmarked. (This is practical, hit ground running stuff.) 1/24 #HowToDoPtEngagement #PatientEngagement
Tmnt Donatello GIF
5:33 PM ∙ Jun 8, 2022
51Likes19Retweets

It’s admittedly linear and sequential, where research can sometimes require several activities running in parallel, but it’s a start for those new to patient-oriented research (or those needing a refresher).

Regardless, I’d love to hear what you think, and if there are other threads I could compile with key resources. (I’m considering one on plain language next.)


Share Your Science

Chemistry Crayon LABLES  set of 48 labels image 1

Who doesn’t want to colour the sun in sodium, or the sky in copper? With these chemistry labels for your crayons, you can educate while you tackle that next Doodle Art of magical unicorns. I don’t own these, but I love this example of a simple way to infuse some passive learning into every day play. The younger me would have loved this.

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This notion that patients will be confused if PhDs - often employed in healthcare - are called doctor, is rather paternalistic in its assumption. Did anyone ask patients, or is it assumed they would be confused by this (and not the medical jargon all too frequently used, for example).

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Not even on my Starbucks cup.

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A clear indication that said person has never tried actual nursing, nor the delicate ballet of managing ego and five separate calendars seamlessly.

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#13: What's in a Title?

brynphd.substack.com
2 Comments
Mark Dykeman
Writes How About This
Jun 13, 2022

Great post, I'm glad you shared your POV on this topic. Doctor Robinson. :)

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