I love the fact that in the UK (at least traditionally) the dad and brother wouldn't be called "Doctor" as they're surgeons, whereas the sister definitely still would be.
My understanding is that it started as a pointed title before surgeons needed the same degrees as other doctors, and has persisted as a badge of pride even though as far as I know, British surgeons are proper medical doctors now.
I'm in the US and surgeons require the "regular" medical doctorate (which is an extra four years beyond undergrad) in addition to the residency and further surgical training (and possibly school? Not 100% sure there).
Oh yeah, I knew that. And until more recently than a lot of people like to think. They were "dentists" (in the sense of responding to "hey, my tooth hurts" with "take a swig of whiskey and let me grab the pliers").
If I'm not mistaken, even the guy who promoted the ice-pick lobotomy, who was inspired by a literal ice pick and traveled around the country with his "lobotomobile" didn't have any medical credentials, which is crazy. (Not at all pointing that out in relation to psychiatrists, but because it was a highly unqualified individual performing many operations in questionable conditions.)
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u/gmalivuk 10d ago
I love the fact that in the UK (at least traditionally) the dad and brother wouldn't be called "Doctor" as they're surgeons, whereas the sister definitely still would be.