Please Call Yourself Doctor If You Have a Ph.D. or ___.D in Something... but why don't many?

[GradSchoolGrad]

In light of the recent OpEd about Dr. Jill Biden (you can google it if you want to see what it is about and controversy), it made me think about my many Ph.D. or ___.D who refuse to address themselves as Dr. ______. I hope this episode encourages more people to be proud of their accomplishment and have them be identified as Drs. 

However, I am not a Ph.D. or __.  D. That being said, what is the norm? Why do so many Ph.D.s and ___. D.s don't proactively establish themselves as a Dr.? Do you think this latest episode will change things? 

[microglia]

3 hours ago, GradSchoolGrad said:

In light of the recent OpEd about Dr. Jill Biden (you can google it if you want to see what it is about and controversy), it made me think about my many Ph.D. or ___.D who refuse to address themselves as Dr. ______. I hope this episode encourages more people to be proud of their accomplishment and have them be identified as Drs. 

However, I am not a Ph.D. or __.  D. That being said, what is the norm? Why do so many Ph.D.s and ___. D.s don't proactively establish themselves as a Dr.? Do you think this latest episode will change things? 

During undergrad, I asked my postdoc this exact question. His answer was that PhD is a saturated title and that if we called everyone with a PhD by their title, everyone would be calling everyone "Dr. ____" (especially in the lab). Day-to-day interactions aside, I do think people are addressed and address themselves as "Dr. ____". For example, in email exchanges, talks/seminars, and publications and other documents (e.g. LoRs, statements). One other thought is that there is an implied meaning of the title today that refers to medical doctors (MD or DO), so this could be driven by social norms as well!