Doctoring Honorifics Cuts Mr From Surgeon
Newcastle Herald
Monday May 30, 2005
IT'S an outrageous piece of inverted snobbery or a harmless historical quirk, depending on your perspective. But now the 600-year-old tradition of calling surgeons Mr to distinguish them from the Dr title of mere physicians may be on its way out as a new generation of medicos argues it confuses patients.
Younger patients who were unused to the convention might worry their surgeon had no medical qualifications, said John Quinn, the executive director for surgical affairs at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. "People do get confused by the Mr title. It's even more confusing for women (surgeons). "If they're called Miss they might be married, but Ms doesn't seem appropriate," said Dr Quinn, who always uses Dr in his Brisbane vascular surgery practice. Dr Quinn said the college would move to establish Dr as a universal title for surgeons.For now it would be members' individual choice whether or not to continue with the tradition a hangover from England prior to the 19th century when pulling teeth, lancing boils and setting broken bones fell to barbers, who did an apprenticeship rather than qualifying in a profession. SMH
© 2005 Newcastle Herald
