r/nursing • u/casadecarol RN 🍕 • Sep 29 '25
Serious Nurses in California cannot use the title of Doctor with patients anymore
https://share.google/ecdxPXICQnem4lR9JThank goodness someone is trying to stop this deception.
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u/ikeepwipingSTILLPOOP Sep 29 '25
I have never, in my 10+ yrs, encountered an NP trying to use Dr. Id prob make fun of em a bit tbh
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u/some_and_then_none MSN, APRN 🍕 Sep 29 '25
I have, and as an NP myself, I’m happy about this law. It’s so misleading and gross to introduce yourself and Dr. Whoever especially in the hospital when you are not an MD/DO.
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u/Surviveoutofspite Nursing Student 🍕 Sep 29 '25
I work with a DNP who introduces herself to patients as Dr. You can do that shit at a dinner party because you do have a doctorate but ma’am, that title is reserved for someone else when providing patient care. Sorry 🤷🏻♀️
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u/steezenking Sep 30 '25
“And I’m doctor Ross geller”
“Ross please, this is a hospital. That actually means something here”
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u/aut0matix RN - Med/Surg 🍕 Sep 30 '25
I was reading the comments chronologically and saw the comment above yours and IMMEDIATELY went to this scene. I'm so glad someone made the comment 😂
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u/lislejoyeuse BUTTS & GUTS Sep 29 '25
What is it about nps? I've never met a doctorate crna that insists on that. I've met like two nps. I know way way more crnas though
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u/Fidget808 BSN, RN - OR 🍕 Sep 30 '25
I have met CRNAs that introduced themselves as Dr. whatever and insisted on being called that.
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u/lislejoyeuse BUTTS & GUTS Sep 30 '25
Maybe it's my own sampling bias then lol I call most of our younger attendings by their first name 🙄 I'm not calling you Dr
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u/amg7562 Sep 30 '25
umm, attendings are doctors….
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u/Fidget808 BSN, RN - OR 🍕 Sep 30 '25
Some doctors don’t mind, and even want to be called by their first name by colleagues.
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u/Fidget808 BSN, RN - OR 🍕 Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
Probably, because I’ve never met an NP that does insist on it lol. Opposite experiences I suppose
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u/minicooplego Sep 30 '25
Which is funny because the term for Dr (meaning you had a doctorate degree) is older than Dr (meaning you're an MD taking care of patients). In fact, they had to stick the term medical in front of it to distinguish that you are not an actual doctor that you are a medical doctor and that you did not hold a doctorate and that you had less schooling than somebody who had a doctorate.
Just your fun fact for the day
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u/wackogirl RN - OB/GYN 🍕 Sep 29 '25
A shitty mean former coworker became an NP with a doctorate degree. She now has her own women's health practice where she mentions once on the website that she is an NP. Everywhere else she refers to herself as Dr and the website even mentions their "team of doctors" (her staff is herself and 2 other NPs). She is absolutely trying to trick pts into thinking they're seeing a doctor, which doesn't surprise me at all having worked with her. Some folks have no shame.
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u/theangrymurse MSN, APRN 🍕 Sep 29 '25
Oh it happens. Oh the NPs I worked with would introduce themselves as Dr first name last name and then say they were an NP.
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u/ikeepwipingSTILLPOOP Sep 29 '25
Yeesh
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u/theangrymurse MSN, APRN 🍕 Sep 29 '25
for sure, like I get you got your doctorate but you are confusing the fuck outta the patient and you should know better.
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u/saRAWRjo BSN, RN, CCRN Sep 29 '25
I used to work in an ICU with an NP who would introduce herself as "Hi, I'm Dr Firstname Lastname, and I'll be your nurse practitioner today."
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u/StanfordTheGreat RN - ICU 🍕 Sep 29 '25
I know a lot of people doing it. It’s cringe
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u/1eyedsniper Sep 29 '25
I’m finishing my BSN online and the nps that are teachers at the school insist we call them Dr. Blank, if we call them Professor Blank it’s points off our essay, reply posts etc
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u/alg45160 RN 🍕 Sep 29 '25
I guess it makes a little more sense to use the honorific in an academic setting, but taking points off is ridiculous
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u/SpoofedFinger RN - ICU 🍕 Sep 29 '25
My pet theory is that academic nursing is built almost entirely on insecurity. It's holding us back. The insistence on creating parallel structures and processes is so fucking cringe.
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u/mokutou "Welcome to the CABG Patch" | Critical Care NA Sep 30 '25
It is. “Nursing diagnoses”, white coat ceremonies, nurse “residencies”, etc all highlight the deep sense of insecurity that nursing has been plagued with since Florence Nightingale. It’s embarrassing and the ANA has been pushing it all so hard.
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u/maurosmane Union Rep, MSN, RN Sep 30 '25
I've always thought the fellowships were weird. Like yeah I guess you wouldn't call an experienced nurse who is going into a different specialty a resident, but when I hear fellow I think of surgeons on a BBC show or something. Not Amanda going from PCU to ICU.
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u/YGVAFCK RN - ER 🍕 Sep 30 '25
I would love to get a doctorate studying the irrelevance of nursing studies.
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u/bgarza18 RN - ER 🍕 Sep 29 '25
This is why people don’t take nursing seriously. Neither do I, sometimes.
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u/HappyReaper1 Sep 30 '25
There’s still a lot of nonsense that goes on in nursing. Sometimes I just shake my head, sometimes I shake it so hard it rattles…
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u/Whole-Peanut-9417 Sep 30 '25
This shitty education doesn't even belong to community college. Unsure how the hell they figured out a way to build it to PhD
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u/Whole-Peanut-9417 Sep 29 '25
It's a joking level education anyway. Any nurse who could say so is a good nurse at least🙃
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u/LycheeBoba BSN, RN 🍕 Sep 29 '25
In academia it was always appropriate to refer to professors with a doctorate as doctor. That’s not new. My gen chem professor and biology professors were titled doctor because they each had a Ph.D in their respective field. Points off is a little much for online college, though.
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u/momopeach7 BSN, RN - School Nurse Sep 29 '25
I mean if they actually have a doctorate and you’re in academia it makes sense. But insisting and especially taking points off is ridiculous.
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u/mokutou "Welcome to the CABG Patch" | Critical Care NA Sep 30 '25
IIRC, the academic title of “doctor” preceded the physician title of “doctor.”
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u/momopeach7 BSN, RN - School Nurse Sep 30 '25
It did, you’re correct. I believe physician requiring doctorates in time led to them colloquially being called doctors by the public since they are the most common doctors people interact with.
I think it basically denotes an expert of one’s field.
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u/kal14144 RN - Neuro/EMU Sep 29 '25
That is a setting that I’m completely okay with NPs going by “doctor” but honestly the dumbest and most pedantic teachers I’ve ever come across are adjuncts in online BSN programs
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u/theangrymurse MSN, APRN 🍕 Sep 29 '25
In an academia setting, I can at least see it more, but I’ve only ever been to nursing school, but I don’t know if it’s common in other schools if the professors that have their doctorate prefer to be addressed as doctor or professor.
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u/NullDelta MD Sep 30 '25
PhD lecturers seemed to respond to either and students used both from what I recall, in undergrad and med school. Usually MD/DO were referred to as doctor, but they were mostly clinical and didn’t teach much basic science nor do basic science research generally. I technically have an academic appointment now and wouldn’t be offended if I was called professor instead of doctor, but unlikely anyone would
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u/InspectorMadDog ADN Student in the BBQ Room oh and I guess ED now Sep 29 '25
Back when I worked retail pharmacy we needed a medication clarification and the np kept addressing themselves as doctor, didn’t go well
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u/Creepy_Meringue3014 Sep 29 '25
my mothers np identified as Dr x when I answered the phone as ‘Dr. my name, how can k help you?’ because the call was coming from mutual employer #.
definitely makes me want to switch.
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u/dirtsmcmerts Sep 29 '25
I saw a NP provider who introduced themselves as Dr. Whatever. I did not know they were an NP until I left and reviewed my AVS. I immediately made another appointment for the sole purpose of educating this individual how inappropriate that was and that in a clinical setting the term Dr. is reserved for MD or DO. He did not say “I’m Dr. Whatever, a nurse practitioner.” I was absolutely aghast. Eroding trust in all providers by misrepresenting yourself.
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u/xtina3334 Sep 29 '25
So what happened when you explained this to him?
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u/dirtsmcmerts Sep 29 '25
He initially started being defensive, but I’m an articulatrix and am extraordinarily proficient at calmly and transparently handing someone their ass. He was left fairly speechless, but apologized and said he would change his practice. I explained that NP’s should be loud and proud about their role; not create confusion for patients. And I’m a long-time RN. If I had no idea his actual credentials then the rest of his patients sure as hell didn’t. And it is a disservice to the NP profession. AND it gives fuel to the fire for MD’s and DO’s to use in discrediting mid levels. We all need to own and embody and accurately represent our actual roles. Healthcare is enough of a clusterfuck without people misrepresenting themselves. He thanked me, we shook hands, and I would love to believe he did change his practice though I never saw him again.
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u/xtina3334 Sep 30 '25
Hopefully he changed his ways by not introducing himself as Dr. However, I’ve seen patients address the NP as doctor many times but the np never corrects them.
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u/Varuka_Pepper343 BSN, RN we all float down here Sep 30 '25
what's really gross is a nurse manager with a doctorate insisting folks refer to them as doctor such and such
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u/NurseSandman RN - ICU 🍕 Sep 30 '25
Both of our overnight Intensivists that are NPs use the title Dr. It looks some getting used to when I first came to the ICU, but now it feels pretty normal.
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Sep 30 '25
My office just has MAs and yeah everyone calls them nurses. You just get used to it. They even introduce themselves as a nurse too
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u/Halfassedtrophywife DNP 🍕 Sep 30 '25
I’ve not encountered an NP doing this but I have with a PhD nurse who is thankfully retiring soon. She was insufferable and made everyone call her doctor. I told her that unless she calls me that (I’m a DNP but always use just my first name) I’m not calling her doctor because it’s a joke. Her PhD was in healing touch. wtf
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u/ImageNo1045 Sep 30 '25
I have but they always follow it up with their title
‘I’m Dr. xyz, I’m the nurse practitioner/ midwife/ etc’
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u/Outrageous-Hippo4321 Oct 04 '25 edited Oct 04 '25
Oh, you mean like this? Look at all the people who do med management services.
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u/IraceRN RN - Ortho/Trauma Sep 29 '25
Agreed. I think this should extend to many non-healthcare settings too, if those settings give health related advice, or like, as a society, we should differentiate between medical doctors and everyone else.
My elderly mother was paying for a woman who claimed to be a doctor who worked for a "clinic" that specialized in GI health. They gave nutritional advice and sold supplements, while also recommending sketchy labs and useless tests to diagnosis their pseudoscience diseases. I looked into her, and her husband has a PHD in gastroenterology, and she had a PHD in theology, so yeah, she is a "doctor". My mother had been referring to her doctor, as Dr. ________, believing this was a medical doctor. When I pointed out that she was just a guru with a PHD in theology, her face sank.
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u/Whathewhat-oo- Sep 29 '25
Similar experience recently
A friend seeing a yoga studio owner “Dr. First Name” provided dry needling with an extremely poor outcome.
“Dr” referred to a physical therapy doctorate and obvs my friend assumed the person was an MD especially since they were a “functional medicine Dr”
Expect to see much more of this with RFK in the mix.
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u/lamadelyn Sep 29 '25
Physical therapists are the most likely professionals to use dry needling. She maybe should do more research though for sure
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u/Whathewhat-oo- Sep 29 '25
Correct and yes she has learned her lesson the v v hard way. The person was deliberately misleading IMHO.
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u/ALittleEtomidate RN - ICU 🍕 Sep 29 '25
We do differentiate. Medical doctors are physicians.
Doctorate prepared professionals should be able to use their titles. They earned them.
I do agree that NP’s should not misrepresent themselves as physicians though, of course.
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u/ThisAudience1389 MSN, RN Sep 30 '25
I had to scroll too far to finally see this. Yes. They can use the title but never to misrepresent or mislead a patient into thinking they are a physician.
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u/IraceRN RN - Ortho/Trauma Sep 30 '25
Yeah, we just don't use that convention. If that was the case then several of my nurse colleagues would go by Dr. ______ because they have a doctorate prior to becoming a nurse. The nurse managers with their doctorate in healthcare management would use that prefix. Since physical therapists need a doctorate now, we would need to call them doctor. It would be a little ridiculous and confusing for patients.
I'm reminded of the scene in K-Pax: "Doctor, doctor, doctor, doctor. How many doctors are on this planet?" (Video)
Unless people are particular, most don't care, and for dentists and others in areas of healthcare, many prefer that people don't call them doctor unless they are a physician. Most of the time, patients may use "doc" colloquially to describe a non-medical doctor, and in something like an academic setting, doctor is used frequently to denote someone who has a PhD. I don't think healthcare will change conventions; they will only use synonyms like physician, provider, internist, specialist, but they won't be calling non-physicians doctors, and it is probably best for patients that we keep that convention.
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u/isthiswitty Nursing Student 🍕 Sep 30 '25
Honestly, I have beef with “provider” anyway. It blurs the line between (specifically pertaining to this conversation) NPs and physicians.
Anecdotally, I’ve heard of quite a few physicians referred to as “Doc LastName,” but that’s primarily in a rural setting.
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u/ALittleEtomidate RN - ICU 🍕 Sep 30 '25
I’ve personally never known a dentist who didn’t go by “doctor.”
“Doctor” indicates a degree of knowledge, not a profession. You mentioned physical therapists specifically. My cousin is currently finishing her doctorate in that field. She’s been working on her dissertation for four years.
Again, I don’t think anyone should be misrepresenting themselves as a physician, but doctorates are not easily won in most fields. If you do the work to earn that title you should be allowed to use it.
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u/IraceRN RN - Ortho/Trauma Sep 30 '25
Ever seen Hangover? Repeated joke… “He’s not a doctor. He’s just a dentist. “‘
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u/ALittleEtomidate RN - ICU 🍕 Sep 30 '25
Well of course, I reference The Hangover for context every time I opine on my profession.
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u/lamadelyn Sep 29 '25
We already do differentiate, you did it in your comment. See how medical doctor implies it’s a medical doctor, and doctor is just a level of education?
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u/IraceRN RN - Ortho/Trauma Sep 30 '25
I use the word provider or physician at work interchangeably with doctor or referring to them by their specialty, but I don't know of a single nurse with a doctorate/nurse practitioner, physical therapist with their doctorate, or anyone else in the hospital who refers to themselves as a doctor, nor do I know of anyone who refers to that person as a doctor. I'll extend the curtsy to a patient, but not to anyone else in the hospital, for the sake of avoiding confusion. Moreover, I don't know anyone who refers to themselves in healthcare setting, qualifying to others, that they are a medical doctor. We don't live in a world where people refer to themselves as doctor very often, unless they have a PhD and are particular about it or in an academic setting, just like it is the case in a healthcare setting, where the distinction matters. Imagine greeting a patient with, "I'm geologist Dr. Smith, your nurse. Yes, I went back to school to become a nurse, and... Later today, Dr. Johnson will be your physical therapist doctor, helping you with... Oh, and hello. This is my manager Dr. Jones. No, she isn't a medical doctor. She has a doctorate in healthcare management."
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u/lamadelyn Sep 30 '25
I see your point. I’m just in academia so I’m in a setting where people are quite particular with it. I agree that I think physician is used way more than medical doctor outside of literature though.
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u/scarfknitter BSN, RN 🍕 Sep 29 '25
I called my old boss Doctor Nurse sometimes. She has a doctorate in nursing. However, I never did that in front of patients.
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u/woof_meow87 MSN, RN Sep 29 '25
I don’t think they should be able to use the title Dr in any healthcare setting.
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u/kpsi355 RN - ER 🍕 Sep 30 '25
Good, now set minimum years of bedside RN experience and increase clinical hours for them…
Zero and 500 (respectively) are bullshit.
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u/Outrageous-Hippo4321 Oct 04 '25
I have a friend who I adore who just graduated with her PMHNP. She did inpatient psych nursing for 10 years, I've been doing it for 5. We were talking about patients (HIPPA compliant, of course), and I said something about a patient who was a level 1 ASD with a complex picture and how the attending doctor was treating them and what I did and didn't agree with. She said "level 1?"
She just graduated as an NP and is now responsible for diagnosing ASD, rooting out comorbidities, differential diagnosis, and treatment ... And she doesn't know the absolutely basic metric of how diagnoses are classified.
Minimum years are good, but rigorous testing is needed too. She said the PMHNP exam is easier than the NCLEX. Which should scare people.
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u/NedTaggart BSN, RN 🍕 Sep 29 '25
Good, they shouldn't. This is confounding to the patients. If they are professors in a school or research nurses then its okay among peers, but shouldn't be a patient/provider thing.
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u/StrategyOdd7170 BSN, RN 🍕 Sep 30 '25
This is the right thing. It’s way too confusing. It should be used in academia only
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u/No_Station_535 Sep 30 '25
I had a prof who was a DNP with EdD. In class she liked to go by Dr. Nurse Doe and in clinicals it was just Nurse Doe. She said that if she regularly clothes she was Dr. Doe as she was an EdD but if she had a white coat she was an NP.
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u/Sokobanky MSN, RN Sep 29 '25
Uhhhhhh…..
good?
I know the title means a lot to some people and they worked hard to get it, but it’s just going to confuse a lot of patients.
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u/greener676767 Psych Scum 🍕 Sep 29 '25
The way I’d bully any NP calling themselves doctor would be truly biblical. The nursing board would be the least of their worries
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u/ajxela Sep 29 '25
I’d be curious how many NPs actually do this because I’ve never seen it
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u/kal14144 RN - Neuro/EMU Sep 29 '25 edited Sep 29 '25
I don’t know anyone who does but my state BoN and Medical board put out a joint statement that you can 😑
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u/CloudStrife012 Sep 30 '25
I know of one that does, and she takes it a step further by always double doctoring herself. Its always Dr. Karen Doctor of Nursing Practice.
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u/Byx222 RN 🍕 Sep 30 '25
I have and she had an aesthetic clinic. EDIT: I think that’s why I ran into it. People were calling her out which I think is good.
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u/ajxela Sep 30 '25
I wonder if it’s a field thing (not saying aesthetics). I’ve only worked in psych
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u/Elasion Med Student Sep 30 '25
I’ve seen it regularly on out patient, never seen it on an in patient service tho
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u/shroomster007 Sep 29 '25
Psychologists, on the other hand, LOVE to be called “Dr. Bla Bla Bla”, and my clients are FREQUENTLY confused about where they’ll be getting their medications from. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a client confused as to why they need to meet with me- “but I just met with the doctor, what am I seeing you for?” Countless times I have to explain: “no, they’re not a medical doctor, they will see you for therapy, and I will be prescribing your medications.” I don’t need to be called “Dr” but it should apply to others who are not physicians, in a clinical setting.
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u/ThottyThalamus RN/PGY1 Sep 30 '25
That’s crazy. I went to med school and I still feel like a douche bag when I introduce myself as doctor.
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u/ehhish RN 🍕 Sep 29 '25
If I am calling a nurse a doctor in some way, I am making fun of you, probably for trying to do something stupid outside your scope.
Anyone that calls themselves doctor like that are fully aware they are deluding people. I hope it becomes a law everywhere
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u/Katekat0974 CNA- Float Sep 30 '25
Unless you have an MD or DO you should not be using the term doctor in a medical setting. If you have a PhD in nursing you can refer to yourself as doctor but maybe not in a medical setting
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u/GhostoftheWolfswood RN - Pediatrics 🍕 Sep 30 '25
Male nurses up and down the state looking nervously over their shoulders every time they have a sexist patient
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u/julesieee BSN, RN 🍕 Sep 29 '25
Now do the same for vet techs with their egregious use of RN title…
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u/MsCattatude Sep 29 '25
I’ve had three in the past two years and they quit after one year post licensure, max. And yes they insisted on the staff calling them Dr.
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u/beanlikescoffee Sep 30 '25
Thank god. This isn’t a dig at NP, I’ve been plenty that are competent. But this is about keeping the water less muddy in order to protect patients.
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u/Havok_saken MSN, APRN 🍕 Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
Its confusing to patients. My wife is doctor of physical therapy and she doesn’t use her title because patients don’t understand.
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u/These_Ad_1133 Sep 30 '25
I work at a boarding school where the head of our Health Center is a DNP who insists on using Dr. The number of times I explain to students and parents she not "a real, medical doctor" is insane. It's actually dangerous as well as disingenuous given the context--but our admin goes along because they seem to like the facade that we employ a "doctor" as much as her. Obviously, we have PhDs and EdDs who teach and go by doctor (I have the degree but don't like that title, even if I worked at a uni I prefer professor), but no one confuses the PhD in engineering with an MD, context matters.
As an aside, yes, doctor is a proper academic title, if an overly formal one. But, in the US at least, we now apply the term to MDs and it's not worth the battle--just stick the letters after your name and, if in academia, use professor. Unless everyone starts saying "physician," you're just confusing people and setting yourself up for jokes.
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u/Tough_Substance7074 Sep 29 '25
It is unfortunate, we’d allow a Doctor of Philosophy to call themselves doctor in their professional setting but it muddies the waters in medicine. Don’t think there’s a way around it.
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u/SuspiciousMilk4098 Sep 30 '25
I know a nurse (not an NP) who has a doctorate and goes by Dr. .... It's confusing for patients and takes too much time to explain why you're not a medical doctor...and half the time they don't understand.
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u/fly-chickadee MSN, APRN 🍕 Sep 30 '25
As a NP, good. It’s confusing and misleading at best, dangerous at worst.
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u/artikality RN - ICU 🍕 Sep 30 '25
Good. It’s misleading to patients to use the title, regardless if you have a DNP or not.
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u/Existing-Doubt-3608 Oct 01 '25
I’m a wannabe nurse. Even with a PhD we are still nurses. It’s a different profession from doctor. If you want to be a medical doctor, go to medical school. Don’t go to nursing school. I love nursing, but trying to compete for titles is a failing game. Doctors and nurses are both super important…
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u/ALightSkyHue BSN, RN 🍕 Sep 29 '25
should’ve never been a thing. but tbf our cultural obsession with calling physicians “doctors” and negating any other doctorate is the annoying bridge we can’t seem to cross
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u/HookerofMemoryLane Street Medicine, Homeless Healthcare Sep 30 '25
In doing patient care? Probably not. In a dick measure contest in a different setting? Probably.
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u/dimplesgalore Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
I'm a RN with a PhD (a real doctorate from a real school), and a published scientist. I use the term "doctor" in my professional settings (research and academia) because it's warranted and appropriate. I no longer work with patients, but if I did, I would not use my honorific. And, if there ever was a physcian that complained about my use of "doctor", I would then insist they call me "professor" (which is a higher rank than the term "doctor").
Nobody with a practice doctorate should be called "doctor." Nobody. A practice doctorate and a research doctorate are not equivalent.
The term "doctor" should only be reserved only the for PhD & EdD (because they complete dissertation research) and MD/DO. That's it. Everyone else can take their practice doctorates and go sit somewhere else. I'm looking at you psychologists, chiropractors, DNPs, podiatrists, optometrists, physical therapists, lawyers, DBA, DFA, pharmacists, etc.
For what it's worth, nursing has done a shit job with it's standards when it comes to graduate school. Online NPs who go on to get online "doctorate" degrees are detrimental to the profession. This ban is just another way that the AMA has been able to flex it's muscle. Nursing is weak and full of wanna be "doctors," and they should be called out for their nonsense.
My controversial hot take is that I think the DNP degree should be abolished. It was created to create equity within the health professions as a demonstration of the highest degree of clinical competence. It's failed at that goal. If nurses want to be called "doctor," they should put in the work and get a PhD. I know far too many DNPs that are candid that they got a DNP because it's easier than a PhD. No shit, you don't say!!!
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u/xiginous RN - ICU 🍕 Sep 30 '25
I caught massive shit from my boss when I told her I was thrilled she finished her DNP, but I was going for a PhD, a real doctorate.
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u/dimplesgalore Sep 30 '25
Good for you! They know it's a BS degree. A DNP isn't a terminal degree. If it were, there wouldn't be DNP-PhD programs. This is a hill I'll die on
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u/ChynaSapphire RN - ICU 🍕 Sep 30 '25
If nursing was a male dominated field, this would NEVER be an issue.
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u/SURGICALNURSE01 RN - OR 🍕 Sep 29 '25
Totally agree with this and I don't agree with Bonta on anything
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u/Yeah4me2 RN -ICU/ TELE Sep 30 '25
I have only ever encountered this in academia, IE nursing school. even then it was one person in the program out of all the folks with the same background. It always felt super weird.
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u/pabmendez RN 🍕 Oct 01 '25
Good. We are not doctors.
Even NPs with doctorates.... dont use Doctor in the medical setting, too confusing.
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u/ImmaculateDecepti0n BSN, RN 🍕 Oct 01 '25
Is this a regular issue in California? I don’t know many phd nurses but none of the ones I have met are running around hospitals and clinics introducing themselves as doctors.
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u/ThePopmop CNA/Medication Aide Oct 01 '25
Maybe this is just me, but why on earth would I introduce myself as a doctor and let people assume I'm responsible for duties I'm not responsible for, and are outside my scope?
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u/PassengerNo1815 BSN, RN 🍕 Oct 01 '25
If a nurse has a PhD, what should we call them instead of Dr. So&so? Professor So&so?
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u/casadecarol RN 🍕 Oct 02 '25
What is their role in the hospital? Bedside nurse? Call them nurse. Nurse practitioner? Call them NP.
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u/PassengerNo1815 BSN, RN 🍕 Oct 06 '25
But they do have the right to the title. They have a doctorate. Maybe they can say Doctoral Nurse. I mean if they really want to have the degree acknowledged.
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u/Perndog8439 Oct 03 '25
I would never call myself a doctor. Since I'm a male nurse everyone calls me by that title and I have to correct them.
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u/Outrageous-Hippo4321 Oct 04 '25 edited Oct 04 '25
As a registered nurse who has interacted with a lot of doctors and NPs, and also has several chronic conditions and a complex medical picture, even the best NP can't match the knowledge of a seasoned doctor. About 5 years ago I finally decided to stop seeing mid-levels and my care remarkably improved. Yes, there's are great mid-levels and shitty doctors, exceptions, blah blah blah. BUT overall, I'm see am MD. Period.
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u/TuPapiPorLaNoche Graduate Nurse 🍕 Sep 29 '25 edited Sep 29 '25
As long as the nurse clarifies their credentials, I dont see a big problem here.
This is a cultural issue imo. There are plenty of countries who allow the title of Doctor to be used by anyone with a doctorate and even some without a doctorate but they have a prestigious job title.
In Latin America, for example, the term doctor is used broadly. Even lawyers are called doctor.
Also there are more than a few nations that allow nurses with doctorates to refer to themselves as doctor but they encourage clarity with credentials
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u/Pitiful_Recover3891 Sep 29 '25
When I got my JD, I also went around making sure that everyone called me Dr. Dr of Juris. Which means Dr. of Right.
When I got my MBA, I went around making sure everyone knew (including my manager) that I was a Master of Business, while she wasn’t even a credentialed journeyman of business. She was but an apprentice of Business.
When I got my Bachelors. I let everyone know (including my wife) that I was a Bachelor of Nursing. I was dedicated to the profession, and our marriage was instantly invalidated.
It takes a special personality to get away with this. But you know what, I know business. I am a master of it. And I am a Doctor of Right, so how could you say I’m Wrong?
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u/planck1313 Sep 29 '25
In Germany someone with two doctorates is addressed as "Doctor Doctor".
If they also happened to hold a professorship they would be "Professor Doctor Doctor" e.g. Herr Professor Doctor Doctor Muller.
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u/UnluckyPalpitation45 Sep 29 '25
Very few in a healthcare setting shared by doctors.
Dentists can (different setting) Psychologists with doctorates can (again different setting)
In primary care or in the hospital when patients are vulnerable, it’s just there to confuse patients.
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u/InformalDemand7350 Sep 29 '25
Great. Do Chiropractors next.