Addressing physicians

[NeuroNP]

How do you address physicians in Australia/NZ? Are they called Dr. So-and-so? As I understand it, a physician in Australia/NZ is not an MD but an MBBS is that right? What about surgeons?

[joannep]

Officially a doctor is called Dr So and so, and a surgeon is called Mr So and so. With a lady surgeon it is Ms So and so.

Working with a doctor on a long term basis in a team environment will allow barriers to fall and it would be accepted to call them by their first name, ie, in theatre, ED.

However, it would be unacceptable to call any doctor by their first name when a patient/client is present.

Surgeons are of course primadonna's and many require you to address them as Sir. But like any work place, in time you break down barriers and may be permitted to address them by their first name.

[NeuroNP]

Officially a doctor is called Dr So and so, and a surgeon is called Mr So and so. With a lady surgeon it is Ms So and so.

Why is it that Surgeons are Mr and Ms and not Dr when Physicians are Dr? Don't they get the same degree?

[talaxandra]

Trainee surgeons are still "Dr", until they're Fellows of the Australian College of Surgeons (FRACS). The use of "Mr/Ms" in Australia follows the British tradition and is an honorary title indicating that the surgeon has advanced experience and training.

Unlike Joanne's experience, where I work it's common practice for the junior doctors to introduce themselves to patients by their first names, and are often referred to be nursing and other staff in the same way; consultants are usually referred to as Doctor So-and-So.

[Sabby_NC]

When I trained at the hospital in which I spent a good part of my nursing career which turned out to be 22yrs I got to know the Drs that visited there very well.

Dr is the title for visiting physicians etc but for surgeons it was Mr.

We were very priveledged to work with awesome Drs that we all called by their first names and they greeted us by christian name.

Some of those Drs became family friends which was even more wonderful.

Never anything but professional in front of the p/client but in the office or walking down the corridor or phone calls it was first name basis.

We noticed a huge difference n the whole demeanor of the place after the hospital stated it would be fine to use first names.

Now those were the days that hospitals were places you would even go to work with a broken leg to do your part.

[bethem]

I call the docs by their first names, without exception. They also call me by my first name, again without exception. I also kidded a doctor (a consultant, no less) today about being impervious to disease, because he was going in and out of an MRSA patient's room without any PPE. I questioned the hidden super-powers of a doctor who apparently shares a name with a character from Smallville. I work with good docs.

[bluetack, RN]

the area i am in now is very informal, everyone from the residents to the consultants are called by their first names by nursing staff, and likewise for us. the ward i worked on previously was more formal, you wouldn't dare call any of the consultants or most of the registrars by anything than dr. i much prefer the informal :)

[Grace Oz]

And ........ sometimes they get called other names! LOL

[ROSYJO11]

i've been nursing since 1990 and I've never heard a doctor/surgeon been referred to as a Mr or Mrs!

All doctors/surgeons/anaesthetists/consultants I have ever worked with have been referred to as Dr.

In a range of hospitals, small/large/public/private but all in QLD

jo

[pie_face]

I find a simple my lord, your highness or simply god is the correct form of address:lol2:

[tiij]

all doctors are Dr. except surgeons who are Mr. or Ms. anethesists are doctors too.

ive never called a doctor "dr so and so" always first name. ive never spoken much to consultants, but those that i have ive called them bu their first name. although.. i have noticed that the residents and registrars call their constultant.. or surgeon "Mr. last name" and they were good buddies.. so i gather they perfered that.

[veritas]

in lay man terms, all doctors are called doctors! its confusing with the mr and doc differentiation. a surgeon has to be a doc before he becomes a sugeon anyway. so all surgeons and physicians get the MBBS first, which is equivalent to the MD in USA. MBBS is a british thing which british-colonised countries adopted. it's weird calling a surgeon mr.... sounds like he is not a doctor?