‘Hello. I Am Steve Shafer, Your Anesthesiologist’

Abstract

Editorial| August 2021 ‘Hello. I Am Steve Shafer, Your Anesthesiologist’ Steven L. Shafer, MD Steven L. Shafer, MD Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar ASA Monitor August 2021, Vol. 85, 4. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ASM.0000768728.85614.f3 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Cite Icon Cite Get Permissions Search Site Citation Steven L. Shafer; ‘Hello. I Am Steve Shafer, Your Anesthesiologist’. ASA Monitor 2021; 85:4 doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ASM.0000768728.85614.f3 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentAll PublicationsASA Monitor Search Advanced Search Topics: biochemistry, health personnel, internship and residency, schools, medical, breast feeding, discipline of nursing, nursing care, nurse anesthetists, college students, mathematics About half of my classmates at Stanford Medical School had PhD degrees. These med school classmates wanted training in the practice of medicine to supplement their training in a separate discipline. When we started our clinical rotations, everyone was introduced to patients as “Mr.” or “Ms.” It would have been inconceivable for a medical school classmate to introduce himself or herself to a patient as “Doctor Jones” on the basis of a PhD in biochemistry. Had any of my PhD classmates introduced themselves to a patient as “Doctor Jones,” he or she likely would receive an immediate sanction. Had the practice continued, I expect the student would have been expelled. The reason for the expulsion would have been dishonesty. To patients, the word “doctor” unambiguously implies a physician with either an MD degree, a DO degree, or an equivalent degree from abroad. It implies undergraduate training in chemistry, biology, physics,... You do not currently have access to this content.