http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18828208

CBA to copy and paste article as on piephone.

Curious about what forumites think about this. If you were treated by someone who called themselves a surgeon, would you expect them to be medically qualified?

What about people who have achieved PhD, call themselves doctors but are encountered in medical settings? An example of this would be say a pharmacist who has a PhD but will see patients for minor illnesses in their own pharmacy? (there's a push for this for minor ailments from the Govt.).

What about a consultant nurse? Someone who is still a nurse but has "consultant" emblazoned on their tunic top and on their ID badge?

Would it affect your perception of the healthcare professional treating you?
Would it alter your expectations?
Would you be happy to be treated by someone who never went to medical school and had medical training?
Do you think the term "surgeon" should be protected?

IMO, there are certain medical professions that should be run as 'chartered' organisations, the way some other jobs are. To get 'chartered' status, you need to have certain qualifications, show certain levels of competence and more importantly you get regularly checked out on those competences. If you describe yourself as 'chartered' when you aren't a member of the charter body, you're committing a criminal offence. If you aren't chartered, you aren't allowed to do the job.

You could happily have chartered nurses, chartered GPs and chartered surgeons. Each job is, after all, very different.

The BMA is definitely not a 'chartered organisation'.

After all, if it's good enough for the people who design the building we live in, the roads we drive on and other such things, shouldn't the model work for the people who look after our bodies as well?

I don't care if the bloke cutting me open thinks he deserves the title 'surgeon' or not. I care that he's up to the job and I'd rather there was independent, objective body saying so.

Jon

Rightly or wrongly, I trust the system to put me in front of the right person, so I couldn't give a [LIFTED] what their title is. This smacks a little of people being protective over their hard won titles. I think jon's chartered suggestion is a good one.

My degree is in surgery. I can call myself doctor. But don't. I see surgery as the higher qualification.

I'm happy with whatever as long as people are not mislead. I frequently have patients telling me they have seen the consultant or a doctor, when the clinic letter tells me it was a nurse. Hence IMO I would prefer people introduced themselves to their patients appropriately.

Mike, I'm not familiar with degrees solely in surgery (AFAIK they are usually combined with medicine) - where did you study and what was the title of your degree?

Bachelor of Dental Surgery.
Got other stuff too, but that was the first degree.
Call me mister.

Coolios.

As a non-surgeon, I always find the issue of "Mr" quite hilarious, mainly because patients think it applies to all consultants rather than all surgeons.

Incidentally, how many cases of osteonecrosis of the jaw have you seen?

Er yes, yes I would have that expectation.

I think the title should be protected. If anyone can call themselves a surgeon, well, images of shady back-water abortion clinics come to mind.

osteoradionecrosis, none except in textbooks.

BRONJ, none yet. Taken teeth out in bisphonate takers, just have to monitor properly and follow up. Avoid those on depot injections.

Simples. Or not. Just waiting for an incident to happen.

/technical jargon

I'm thinking that probably contravenes other, perhaps more important, regulations besides a simple case of name misuse.
If a tree surgeon decides to get all cardiothoracic in my rib cage, that would be annoying.

thats what i love about the so called 'professions' they deem themselves with so much self importance ...

Says the so called 'MrStevenRogers' on the so called 'internet' using his so called 'words' that describe so called 'things' that are still the same 'things when when they aren't 'so called'.

What’s the old saying

“You spend 7 yrs studying to be called Dr and then another 10 to be called Mr”

get a life and get over it ...