On Medical Doctors’ Qualifications (by Dr JB Lim)

The blogger wishes to reproduce an email from his most-learned e-buddy Dr JB Lim aka ‘the Great Sifu’ on an explanation on the qualification requirements of medical doctors and the like as follows:

From: lim juboo

Sent: Monday, July 8, 2013 5:17 AM

All medical graduates from whichever university or college, in whichever country they graduated, MUST pass a number of examinations after a minimum of at least 4 years, to a max of 6 years including houseman-ship (British), or internship (US, Taiwan, Japan, and elsewhere) before they are allowed to practice medicine. This applies to all professional courses, including alternative medicine as well as to other professional course.

All MUST register with their professional bodies to get a license before they can practice medicine and all other allied medical fields or other systems of medicine (pharmacy, nutrition, dentistry, optometry, chiropractic, homeopathic medicine, naturopathic medicine, osteopathic, etc, etc.).

In this country (every qualified practitioners) MUST be registered with their professional bodies or with the Ministry of Health (in Malaysia) as required by LAW through an Act of Parliament. This makes them recognized.

I think this requirement is the same in most other countries.

In China the title "Dr" is not used to address medical doctors. They are not given any special title.

They are just called “yisheng (医生)” (in modern China) or “daifu (大夫)” (in feudal China). If they are trained in Traditional Chinese Medicine (which has exactly the same length of training, status and salary as their conventional medical graduates), they are addressed as "zhong yi (中医)”.

But the title "Dr" is never used to address either of them in China.

But if they actually have a doctorate degree (PhD) which is considered much higher than a "yi sheng" then they are given the title "Boshi (博士)" which in China carries much more weight than a "yisheng".

A Boshi is much more learned - somewhat he is considered a sage, a minister, a rabbi, or a sifu. This address "Boshi" commands much more respect than just a "yisheng". This is in China. A Boshi official pay is also very much higher than a "yisheng".

In the UK among the learned academic societies, a medical graduate is addressed as a "clinician" whereas a PhD is addressed as a "doctor".

This is because the British are very class, and status conscious. The PhD holders just want to distinguish themselves from the medical doctors whom they consider holds only a bachelor's degree which is actually not a doctorate.

The British considers a PhD holder belongs only to actual doctorate holders. They are very class conscience.

That is why, the British prefers to put their academic titles BEHIND their names rather than putting "Dr" in front of their names, because any Dick Tom and Harry can simply put "Dr" in front of their names, and want others to address them as "doctors" whether or not they are eligible for it.

So all these dentists, veterinarians, pharmacists, sinseh, nursing tutors, including beauticians here in Malaysia make use of this loophole by wanting to put the title "Dr" IN FRONT of their names, but refuse to reveal their actual degrees BEHIND their names. They are quite smart in trying to deceive the public.

If they spell out their degrees BEHIND their names, then everybody will instantly know they are NOT actual doctorate holders, but just an ordinary dentist, a medical assistant, a medical graduate with just a bachelor's degree or a beautician with just a certificate or a 'diploma' from some unrecognized beauty training school.

So they want to hide all that (especially their qualifications) by putting the title "Dr" title in front, and blank co all their degrees (especially if they have just some diploma or first degree).

That is why among the upper echelon of the academic and scientific community in Britain, medical doctors are called clinicians, whereas medical doctors specializing in medicine are called "physician" (which is higher than a "doctor"), while surgeons who were originally "barber doctors" because they use knives and scissors in the 18th century to cut open, rather than using medication to treat, are addressed as "Mr" (for male surgeons) or Miss (married or unmarried) for female surgeons (there was no female barber doctors at that time).

In the United States, like the British, they too seldom put their Dr title in front of their names. Instead, they rather prefer to put their degrees such as MD (Doctor of Medicine) and PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) BEHIND their names rather than putting all those "Dr" in front. They are very honest and frank.

They know that the moment people see their qualifications BEHIND their names, they will INSTANTLY know how to address them (automatic).

They would also know who they are, their professions, etc rather than forcing others to call them "doctors" like the stupid and idiotic Malaysian public.

For medical researchers who are even higher up as medical experts, when we publish research papers, we don't even put anything before or after our names.

We don't even put our position or spell out our professional appointments behind our names inside our research papers. We merely put the department and the address where we work so that other researchers can contact us. That's all we put (plain name, and just the address).

How true! How true when people say "THE HIGHER YOU GO, THE MORE HUMBLE YOU ARE".

To me, I want to see the degrees and the SUBJECT(S) a graduate qualify in, rather than seeing if they hold just a diploma, a degree or even a PhD. They make no impact to me.

I just want to see the subject (the area of specialty) in which a graduate holds that degree. I am not even interested in the university where he graduated.

I just want to know what area (the subject) he specializes in so that I can adjust my conversation with him / her when I meet him / her in a formal dinner, in a social gathering, in an official function, or in a congress or in a conference.

I normally assess a person's educational level and versatility on what and how he speaks. That's all I want to hear from a newly introduced acquaintance. He may be a professional, but what use is he to me if he cannot explain things in his own field, or speak properly.

In a social gathering, I want to know exactly in what subject I can engage my conversation eloquently with that person I was introduced there in the hall.

I have meet many so called graduates especially those from local universities who cannot even hold a simple conversation in his own field of study for too long. They talk nonsense in his / her area of training after just a few sentences.

There are many many local graduates like that. They are highly unmarketable in the job market.

So how shall we address them??

regards

jb lim