Why do physicians garner so much respect?

September 10, 2015 10:19 AM

Hi all, I work for a shall-not-be-named U.S. association of physicians and interact with medical doctors/surgeons on a daily basis (not in a clinical setting). Recently a colleague of mine was censured by HR for failing to "afford sufficient respect" in an e-mail to one particular physician when he neglected to write "Dr. So-and-So," (no form of address was used at all) which prompted the surgeon to lodge a scathing complaint that eventually got to the CEO's desk. I don't dispute that anyone who undergoes years of training in a highly technical field deserves respect and a commensurate paycheck. But in a field like medicine, which often touts vague commitments to "serving patients," deferring to lofty forms of address and decorum seem out of step with a culture so proudly intolerant of elitism and classism. Medicine is not the only profession that requires grueling training to land a few letters at the end of one's name -- so why do doctors in particular have (and often, demand) such mystique and prestige in our society?
posted by lecorbeau to Society & Culture