Doctor (title)
Doctor (gen.: doctoris) means teacher in Latin. The word is originally an agentive noun of the verb docēre (‘to teach’).[1] It has been used continuously as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the university. This use spread to the Americas, former European colonies, and is now prevalent in most of the world. In the west, the stand alone title “Doctor” and the term “a doctor” have become common for referring to physicians.
Used as an honorific, the prefix, abbreviated “Dr” or “Dr.”, is used as a designation for a person who has obtained a doctorate (that is, a doctoral degree), which is considered the highest rank of academic degree. Doctoral degrees may be “research doctorates”, awarded on the basis of competency in research, or “taught doctorates” (also called “professional doctorates”), awarded on the basis of coursework and adjunct requirements (if any) successfully completed by the conferee.
When addressing several persons of whom each holds a doctoral title, one can use the plural abbreviations “Drs.” or in some languages,[which?] Dres., may be used, e.g., instead of Dr. Miller and Dr. Rubinstein: Drs. Miller and Rubinstein. When referring to relatives with the same surname, it is common to use the form “The Doctors Smith”.
Doctor of the Church
Doctor of the Church (Latin doctor, teacher, from Latin docere, to teach) is a title given by a variety of Christian churches to individuals whom they recognize as having been of particular importance, particularly regarding their additions to theological or doctrinal matters.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated PhD (also Ph.D.), for the Latin philosophiæ doctor, meaning “teacher of philosophy”, or alternatively, DPhil, for the equivalent doctor philosophiæ, is an advanced academic degree awarded by universities. In many English-speaking countries, the PhD is the highest degree one can earn [1] and applies to graduates in a wide array of disciplines in the sciences and humanities. The PhD has become a requirement for a career as a university professor or researcher in most fields.
The detailed requirements for award of a PhD degree vary throughout the world. In some countries (the US, Canada, Denmark, for example), most universities require coursework in addition to research for PhD degrees. In many other countries (especially those with a greater degree of specialization at the undergraduate level, such as the UK) there is generally no such condition. It is not uncommon, however, for individual universities or departments to specify additional requirements for students not already in possession of a master’s degree.
In countries requiring coursework, there is usually a prescribed minimum amount of study – typically two to three years full time, or a set number of credit hours – which must take place before submission of a thesis. This requirement is usually waived for those submitting a portfolio of peer-reviewed published work. The candidate may also be required to successfully complete a certain number of additional, advanced courses relevant to his or her area of specialization.
A candidate must submit a thesis or dissertation consisting of a suitable body of original academic research, which is in principle worthy of publication in a peer-refereed context.[2] In many countries a candidate must defend this work before a panel of expert examiners appointed by the university; in other countries, the dissertation is examined by a panel of expert examiners who stipulate whether the dissertation is in principle passable and the issues that need to be addressed before the dissertation can be passed.
Universities in the non-English-speaking world have begun adopting similar standards to those of the Anglophone PhD degree for their research doctorates (see, for example, Bologna Process).[3]
Physician
A physician, medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, medical doctor or simply doctor, practices medicine, and is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease and injury. This is accomplished through a detailed knowledge of anatomy, physiology, diseases and treatment – the science of medicine – and its applied practice – the art or craft of medicine.
Life is short, and Art long;
the crisis fleeting; experience perilous, and decision difficult.
The physician must not only be prepared to do what is right himself,
but also to make the patient, the attendants, and externals cooperate.
- First aphorism of Hippocrates, circa 400BCE, from the Hippocratic Corpus online (translated by Francis Adams)
Dentistry
Dentistry is the known evaluation, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the soft and hard tissues of the jaw (mandible), the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body.[1] Dentistry is a part of stomatology. Dentistry is widely considered necessary for complete overall health. Those in the practice of dentistry are known as dentists. Other people aiding in oral health service include dental assistants, dental hygienists, dental technicians, and dental therapists.
Dentistry is that branch of medicine which deals with the study and practice of diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases of the mouth, the maxilla, and the face.
Veterinarian
A veterinarian (American English) or a veterinary surgeon (British English), often shortened to vet, is a physician for animals and a practitioner of veterinary medicine. The word comes from the Latin veterinae meaning “working animals”. “Veterinarian” was first used in print by Thomas Browne in 1646.[1]
Chiropractic
Chiropractic is a health care discipline and profession that emphasizes diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially the spine, under the hypothesis that these disorders affect general health via the nervous system.[1] It is generally considered to be complementary and alternative medicine,[2] a characterization that many chiropractors reject.[3] The main treatment involves manual therapy including manipulation of the spine, other joints, and soft tissue; treatment also includes exercises and health and lifestyle counseling.[4] Traditional chiropractic assumes that a vertebral subluxation or spinal joint dysfunction interferes with the body’s function and its innate intelligence,[5] a notion that brings ridicule from mainstream science and medicine.[6]
D.D. Palmer founded chiropractic in the 1890s and his son B.J. Palmer helped to expand it in the early 20th century.[7] It has two main groups: “straights”, now the minority, emphasize vitalism, innate intelligence and spinal adjustments, and consider subluxations to be the leading cause of all disease; “mixers” are more open to mainstream and alternative medical techniques such as exercise, massage, nutritional supplements, and acupuncture.[8] Chiropractic is well established in the U.S., Canada and Australia.[9]
For most of its existence, chiropractic has battled with mainstream medicine, sustained by ideas such as subluxation[10] that are not based on solid science.[11] Vaccination remains controversial among chiropractors.[12] The American Medical Association called chiropractic an “unscientific cult”[13] and boycotted it until losing a 1987 antitrust case.[14] Chiropractic has had a strong political base and sustained demand for services; in recent decades, it has gained more legitimacy and greater acceptance among medical physicians and health plans in the U.S.,[14] and evidence-based medicine has been used to review research studies and generate practice guidelines.[15] Many studies of treatments used by chiropractors have been conducted, with conflicting results. Collectively, systematic reviews of this research have not demonstrated that spinal manipulation is effective, with the possible exception of treatment of back pain.[11] The efficacy and cost-effectiveness of maintenance chiropractic care are unknown.[16] Although spinal manipulation can have serious complications in rare cases,[17][18] chiropractic care is generally safe when employed skillfully and appropriately.[
