Although the first reaction of most people is to assume they are talking to a medical professional when engaging with someone bearing the title of doctor, this is not necessarily the case. In fact, the number of people entitled to use this appellation far exceeds those who are qualified to practice medicine. Theoretical scientists, specialists in literature and the arts, and even members of the clergy are just a few of those who may have earned the title. Paradoxically, in other fields of study, this right is only granted to those who have completed post-graduate studies entitling them first to a master’s degree and, subsequently to a doctorate, whereas attaining the undergraduate degree of MB ChB for studies in medicine and surgery automatically carries this entitlement.
Of course, every newly qualified medical doctor must undergo a further period of intensive training as an intern. It is at this time that all that theoretical knowledge will be put into practice and used to develop the unique skills required of a physician or surgeon. On completion of their internship, some may choose to remain in the hospital service as a registrar and choose to focus on a particular field such as cardiology, orthopaedics, obstetrics, or neurosurgery. They will then be required to pursue an appropriate higher qualification that will establish them as a specialist in their chosen field. Others may prefer not to pursue a specialist career but, instead, to enter general practice in either the public or private healthcare sector.
Surprisingly, not all those who have earned the title actually choose to use it. Considering how hard a medical student is required to work in order to earn the title of doctor, it might be seen as something of an anomaly that, in complete contrast to those in the rest of the world, consultant surgeons in the United Kingdom prefer to distinguish themselves from physicians by, instead, adopting the title of mister.
Although the world of Nobel Laureates continues to be dominated by those who hold a PhD, physicians such as Karl Landsteiner who discovered blood groups and pioneered transfusions and the iconic Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin, are among the physicians who have made invaluable contributions. No less significant was the work of our own Christiaan Barnard who performed the first successful heart transplant.
It is, however, the ongoing efforts of the average medical doctor, which, though rarely capturing the limelight, continue to offer much-needed relief for the sick and injured on a daily basis, with the aid of leading healthcare providers such as Intercare.