6 ms·
Is it normal in the US to refer to optometrists as "doctors"?
by ajdlinux 7y ago
Is it normal in the US to refer to optometrists as "doctors"?
- sneak 7y agoIn the US, even chiropractors (who are pseudoscientific quacks) are called “doctor”.
- war1025 7y agoChiropractors may be psuedoscience quacks, but they sure as hell can make your back feel better if it's out of place.
- war1025 7y agoCurious why the downvotes on this? You don't have to buy into their magical alignment aura junk to objectively know that it feels good having your back aligned. It's just a fancier version of having a friend or family member push on your back until it pops whatever was out of place.
- Retric 7y agoJust a guess, but the feeling better part and out of alignment part are unrelated. Simply stretching muscles tends to provide short term relief of a variety of issues. The alignment bit does not seem to be related in any way. For example, muscle cramps often feel better after a stretch. However, eating a banana is more likely to help by dealing with a common underlying cause.
- cannonedhamster 7y agoBecause chiropracty can be very dangerous if the person performing it is not trained on basic human physiology. There is literally nothing other than magic for a chiropractor. Everything useful is just basic massage techniques, which is a field with proven benefits.
- Spooky23 7y agoJust go to a massage therapist. The chiropractor is a quack that gives you unnecessary X-rays.
- kjs3 7y agoSo very true. My licensed masseuse has training in how not to hurt me, now to positively address the issues they can actually address and doesn't participate in psuedo-science. She's part of a team that gets professional athletes back on field, and they are extremely anti-quack, because of the millions of dollars involved. And never "prescribes" an Xray, unless she's sending someone to a real doctor to get it.
- kjs3 7y agoProbably because you're using "objectively" when you mean "for me". Typical pseudo-science. And pointing out (correctly) that you don't need a "Doctorate" to get the same effect from pretty much anyone who isn't a sadist.
- nrclark 7y agoI think that people hate on chiropractors _because_ of the pseudo-science aspects. There also isn't much science -even empirical studies- that back up the claims of chiropractic (which doesn't have a noun form of the word for whatever reason). A fortune-teller could probably give great advice about family relationships, but I'd recommend a counselor or therapist instead. And I'd probably treat the fortune-teller as a scam artist. In the same vein, a chiropractor might relax my back, but that doesn't make them credible. Fun fact: the inventor of chiropractic was also big believer in the healing power of magnets, and was murdered by his son.
- AnimalMuppet 7y agoThey have a four-year graduate degree. It takes as long as an MD degree. I don't believe everything they say. But when my back feels twisted, I trust them enough to straighten it out. They even did a good job straightening out my whiplash.
- cannonedhamster 7y agoChiropractic medicine is entirely state based since there's no science behind it. Every state has their own rules about what it takes to be called a chiropractor. Some get actual training on physiology and musculature but definitely not all. It's always going to be hot or miss on whether or not they are going to leave you paralyzed or feeling better.
- war1025 7y agoEye doctors, yes.
- braindeath 7y agoThere are also ophthalmologists. That requires at least 8 years of post undergraduate training in the US. 3 years which is surgical residency.
- chrisseaton 7y agoDo you also have 'opticians' as well as ophthalmologists and optometrists?
- braindeath 7y agoYes. Though they are not eye doctors in any meaningful sense of the word. It requires a pretty straightforward certification while the other two require years of post graduate training.
- cgy1 7y agoI believe opticians are the people that measure your PD adjust frames.
- astura 7y agoCorrect.
- chrisseaton 7y agoI think they have doctoral degrees, yes, like dentists do in the US. Fun fact - most doctors in the UK do not have any kind of doctoral degree! Just bachelors degrees (they're sort of treated like masters degrees though.)
- greggman2 7y agoI wonder if there been a study on if there is any difference in outcomes. Japan also has a lower barrier to entry to be a doctor than the USA. Medical care is much less expensive but I run into plenty of quack doctors that would not qualify as doctors in the USA
- elliekelly 7y agoWe have quack “doctors” that don’t qualify as doctors in the US, too. They’ve just managed to convince several state legislatures to allow them to practice medicine and call themselves doctors or physicians anyway. Some of them are even allowed to prescribe medicine and perform surgical procedures. And just about all of this “naturopathic medicine” is entirely without evidence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturopathy#Regulation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturopathy#Regulation
- robbiep 7y agoOphthalmologists are doctors. Optometrists [people who give eye examinations] are almost never doctors. (edited in response to comments - seems, once again, that things are different in the US; so i'll clarify, they are almost never Doctors in AUS/UK/NZ) Medical doctors in the UK and other commonwealth countries have traditionally been MBBS. In Australia, the adoption of the Australian Qualifications Framework and pressure from the US, where people seem to expect 'MD's has lead to most universities shifting to MD programs from MBBS (an AQF level 7 -> AQF level 9). The bottom line on this is substantively nothing, except a bit less ink being used on business cards, millions of dollars spent on website rebranding by medical schools and endless posturing by faculty for students. So basically, whether you are a 'Doctor' by post-nominals or a 'Doctor' by recognition of your MBBS, your education has been effectively the same, and the distinction is actually meaningless. [0] https://www.amsj.org/archives/5996 https://www.amsj.org/archives/5996
- madengr 7y agoThey get an Doctor of Optometry degree, so a I suppose you could, but don’t Pharmacists also?
- AnimalMuppet 7y agoYes, pharmacists get a Doctors of Pharmacy degree.
- astura 7y agoYes, and they would have a Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree.