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Asked by shabaz to Emma, Jen, Joseph, Michael, Mona on 19 Jun 2011.
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Jen Gupta answered on 15 Jun 2011:
Right, so there are two types of doctors. When you say doctor to most people they will think of a medical doctor – doctors who work in hospitals and medical clinics. Medical doctors will have gone to university to study medicine for (I think) 6 years.
When scientists talk about doctors, we normally mean academic doctors. This basically means that you have a PhD which actually means “Doctor of Philosophy” which I always find a bit strange! People who do a PhD will already have done at least one degree (called their undergraduate). When you do an undergraduate degree you end up with a bachelors or a masters degree. If you have a bachelors you normally then do a postgraduate masters. Once you have a masters degree you can start your PhD degree (although I know some people who went straight to a PhD from a bachelors). In the UK a PhD degree lasts 3-4 years where you have to do original research. You write all of this up in a really long report called a thesis and are then examined on this thesis in an oral examination called a viva. Once you pass you can call yourself a doctor! In other countries PhD degrees can be longer than in the UK and in some places you also have to give a presentation as part of your vivia.
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Michael Taggart answered on 15 Jun 2011:
Just a small addition to the above. When asked this question I always differentiate (with a wee bit of mischief) between real doctors and honorary doctors. Real doctors are those who have passed a degree with an examination for that title – as in Doctor of Philosophy, a PhD as Jen describes and which I have. You can only study for this if you first have obtained a previosu degree of BSc or MSc (Bachelor of Science or Master of Science) at uni. Medical doctors routinely obtain a degree from uni with no such title. In Newcastle Uni the degree a medical student receives is an MBBS, Medicine Bachelor & Bachelor of Surgery. So, this is similar to a BSc or MSc degree really, just in a different topic (medicne rather than science). Someone who has studied medicine, however, is given the honorary title of Doctor. Scientists aren’t given this honorary title. They have to go on and study for another degree (by doing 3-4 years of research) that actually confers upon them the title DOCTOR. So, it annoys scientists quite a bit when Joe Bloggs might be having a conversation with you and, on finding out you are not a clinician (maybe because you can’t offer an explanation for their throbbing big toe), will show some disappointment with the comment “Oh, so you’re not a real doctor”. Au contraire, au contraire……
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Emma Bennett answered on 19 Jun 2011:
Jen and Michael have pretty much covered it all, basically you can go onto do further research in pretty much any subject to become a doctor.
If you did want to be a medical doctor though you don’t have to study for a medical degree as it is possible to do post-graduate medicine instead (after your first degree). I think you stand more chance of getting onto a post graduate medicine course if you have a science degree (don’t quote me on this though) but some places will still consider you even if your first degree is in a subject like English.
Comments
Jen commented on :
I have to be pretty careful about the “real doctors” debate because my parents are both medical doctors! My sister and I are both studying for PhDs so at least I won’t be outnumbered by “real doctors” in my family!