ANSWERING THE FAN MAIL
Anonymous said...
I hope you have time to answer two questions, mostly because I don't understand your problem with this kind of healthcare and I would like to know more.If everything you are saying is true, Caduceus, why is it that chiropracticors are liscened and allowed to practice? Also, would you be more comfortable with chiropractics if they didn't have the title of doctor in front of their names?
Caduceus reply...
1. Medical doctors are licensed by a board of medical doctors/examiners. Chiropractors, I believe are also licensed by a board, but of other chiropractors. Both have to meet certain criteria and/or pass exams to become licensed. As long as you have an acknowledged medical specialty, you can become "board certified" in that specialty after some period of training and passing a highly regulated exam. Chiropractics has a nationally recognized board and must meet certification to become licensed. Medical doctors have nothing to do with it, and shouldn't. I really have no idea what the certification or exam, if any, is like.
2. Honestly, I don't think that chiropractors should be called doctors. I also don't think that doctors of physical therapy or other non-MDs should be called "doctors" either. I know this sounds arrogant and self-righteous, but there is a simple reason. It confuses people. Most patients, especially the elderly, have no idea that one doctor is different than the next. They are used to the old time town doctor that was the local practicing physician (MD). These days, it seems like anyone who obtains some form of secondary education is called a "doctor". Everybody wants the title and feels like they've earned it after so much schooling, but the problem is that we are using a very powerful term to describe very different things. These doctors are completely different. You may not realize this but lots of small town "doctors" are actually Physician Assistants (PA) or Nurse Practitioners. Here is an extremely dangerous situation. Residents of these towns many times call these practitioners "doctor so-and-so" and think they are seeing a Medical Doctor. What really annoys me is that many times, these PAs and NPs don't correct the public and state they are indeed NOT doctors - further allowing the public to become more confused as to the services they are obtaining.
Chiropractors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners are not "doctors" as the public percieves the term doctor. Don't be mistaken, these are not the same as medical doctors.
I hope you have time to answer two questions, mostly because I don't understand your problem with this kind of healthcare and I would like to know more.If everything you are saying is true, Caduceus, why is it that chiropracticors are liscened and allowed to practice? Also, would you be more comfortable with chiropractics if they didn't have the title of doctor in front of their names?
Caduceus reply...
1. Medical doctors are licensed by a board of medical doctors/examiners. Chiropractors, I believe are also licensed by a board, but of other chiropractors. Both have to meet certain criteria and/or pass exams to become licensed. As long as you have an acknowledged medical specialty, you can become "board certified" in that specialty after some period of training and passing a highly regulated exam. Chiropractics has a nationally recognized board and must meet certification to become licensed. Medical doctors have nothing to do with it, and shouldn't. I really have no idea what the certification or exam, if any, is like.
2. Honestly, I don't think that chiropractors should be called doctors. I also don't think that doctors of physical therapy or other non-MDs should be called "doctors" either. I know this sounds arrogant and self-righteous, but there is a simple reason. It confuses people. Most patients, especially the elderly, have no idea that one doctor is different than the next. They are used to the old time town doctor that was the local practicing physician (MD). These days, it seems like anyone who obtains some form of secondary education is called a "doctor". Everybody wants the title and feels like they've earned it after so much schooling, but the problem is that we are using a very powerful term to describe very different things. These doctors are completely different. You may not realize this but lots of small town "doctors" are actually Physician Assistants (PA) or Nurse Practitioners. Here is an extremely dangerous situation. Residents of these towns many times call these practitioners "doctor so-and-so" and think they are seeing a Medical Doctor. What really annoys me is that many times, these PAs and NPs don't correct the public and state they are indeed NOT doctors - further allowing the public to become more confused as to the services they are obtaining.
Chiropractors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners are not "doctors" as the public percieves the term doctor. Don't be mistaken, these are not the same as medical doctors.
posted by Caduceus at Sunday, December 03, 2006
4 Comments:
I am an NP. I always tell my pts that I am a nurse. I tell pts to call me by my first name (I have an unusual surname and if I use my last name it creates confusion). Many of my pts still refer to me as "doc" even though I have corrected them. It may be due to the fact that I work at the Spa and these vets are used to calling corpsman "doc".
I guess that there may be NPs or PAs out there not correcting their patients, but I doubt that many are referring to themselves as doctors. Rather, that their pts just use "doc" as it is easier than saying NP or PA.
CardioNP
When referring to becoming "board certified" in an "acknowledged" medical specialty, to whom are your attributing the acknowledgement? M.D. based ABMS? D.O. based BOS? If so, it should be pointed out that these are largely turf protection cartels. They huff and puff about quality of care, but numerous studies undertaken to evaluate the question have not produced any consistent evidence that patients treated by "board certified" doctors have any better outcomes than patients treated by non-certified doctors. While I don't deny the quality of the training received by physicians certified by one of the ABMS or BOS member boards, the current absurd emphasis placed on certification is driven not by patient care issues but by marketing, legal maneuvering, the securing of lucrative procedural turf, and a touch of laziness by credentialing committees.
Sounds like the old belief during times of slavery and civil rights struggles when black men weren't considered equal to, or on the same level of intellect as white men. Some folks still hold onto that belief. I think about blacks in those days and my 10 years as a chiropractor. Funny, I guess that means I have two strikes against me. Let's see, a black male chiropractic doctor. Hmmm. I guess for some that'll forever be a big pill to swallow, huh?
I think this is an opinion from a group that aren't willing to change with the times.
We consider neurologists, cardiologists, optomologists, gynecologists, etc to all be doctors. They are simply specialists in a medical field.
A physical therapist is no different.
I have a specialty in rehabilitation that is respected and needed by the society. It may take a while for the general population to change their opinion of what a Doctor is but that is just a sign of the times.
Have a good day.
Post a Comment
<< Home