Dear Annie: I Earned My Title as a Doctor

Dear Annie,

I wanted to share my response to the recent column where a reader referred to a doctor by her first name.

As a female physician, I was taken aback not only by the content of the original column but also, to some extent, by your response.

Throughout my nearly 20 years of medical training, including medical school, residency, fellowship, teaching residents as an attending physician, and my personal medical practice, I've never known patients to address their doctors by anything other than “Dr. Last Name.”

During my training as a resident and fellow, we always referred to our attending physicians as “Dr. Last Name.” It was never assumed that using their first name was acceptable.

Female physicians often find themselves in a uniquely frustrating and sexist position. We are more likely to be addressed without our proper title by almost anyone.

In my specialty, I frequently interact with law enforcement, attorneys, family members of my patients, laboratory personnel, etc. More often than not, my female colleagues and I are addressed by our first name (gleaned from our email address or part of our full names in the email signature, followed by “M.D.”) or “Ms. Last Name” at work.

Our male colleagues rarely experience this, as they are almost always addressed with their title. Unfortunately, this is a common experience for female physicians and has been studied and documented. We worked just as hard, if not harder, to earn that title. When interacting with someone in our professional capacity as physicians, it’s disrespectful, unprofessional, and dismissive to ignore that title.

Being friends or neighbors with a physician doesn't change the etiquette and consideration owed to any doctor treating you in their professional capacity.

— Dr. With a Last Name

Dear Doctor,

Thank you for taking the time to share your views with our readers. We all benefit from understanding your perspective, which is based on many years of dedication to helping patients.

We salute you and agree that you should never be addressed by your first name by a patient unless you explicitly invite them to do so. You have earned the title of Doctor.