Dr Rajan I have to disagree with you strongly that the "MBBS is a walk in the park". The PhD is long in depth and narrow in width generally. The MBBS is incredibly wide but as one becomes a specialist, one does focus more narrowly in a given area. Re the PhD, those in the natural sciences usually take off beyond the stage where specific research has already been undertaken---generally by the supervising professor. In contrast, I will contend that in the humanities and social sciences, the start of a study is more tenuous and problematic in defining the area of study. This is why so many never finish---they seem to wrestle with the problem all their lives without getting round to submitting the tome for assessment!
Strictly speaking the PhDs are the real doctors in the literature on the professions but it is normal to refer to the medical doctor as a doctor. In the UK at least, the surgeon sheds the title of Dr for Mr, Miss, Ms or Mrs on becoming a specialist with further training and study. In general such titles are unnecessary in ordinary usage as on Goanet, unless some kind of signalling is essential in specific situations. My one small worry is that when a dentist is referred to as a doctor there can be some room for public misunderstanding but I wouldn't deny the guy his tiny bit of status from a mere prefix. Not too long there was a healthy discussion on Goanet on the use of the title Professor. Cornel --- "Rajan P. Parrikar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Furthermore - although medical doctors also use > "Dr," the effort it takes to earn the PhD degree is > several orders of magnitude greater than what is > required for a mere MBBS degree. A PhD is > expected to have both width and depth. That is, > attain a broad understanding in his general area of > study and acquire highly specialized knowledge in > his specialty area. A significant amount of > advanced > coursework is required. There are residency > requirements, qualifying & candidacy examinations, > and a final oral defense. Finally, your thesis > represents an original investigation leading to advancement of knowledge in your chosen field. Only an MBBS, by comparison, is a walk in the park.
