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Is it ethical for an EMS educator to refer to himself as Doctor Lastname when he has an online degree in Biblical Counseling from an unaccredited diploma mill?
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There seems to be two separate questions here:@ThadeusJ yeah, makes sense.
But what if you have a PhD from Therapon University, an "institute of Online Learning for the Body of Christ" in Biblical Counseling?
Starting your EMS-related YouTube video by identifying yourself as "Doctor X" seems disingenuous.
I think calling yourself Doctor with a non-academic online degree is completely disingenuous and asinine.
Is it ethical for an EMS educator to refer to himself as Doctor Lastname when he has an online degree in Biblical Counseling from an unaccredited diploma mill?
Many have made the argument that in the clinical setting, only physicians should be referred to as doctors. This argument is being weakened, though….more and more non-physician clinicians (and non-clinicians) are obtaining doctorates and referring to themselves as such.
Accurately identifying yourself and your role is of course important. But worst case scenario, someone misunderstands and thinks that the psychologist or physical therapist or audiologist or NP or PA is a physician. How would harm come of that? The clinician would probably have to be practicing outside of their scope in order fo any harm to come as a result of any misunderstanding.If we can prove the public has no clue & that they are going to be harmed, there could be a compelling (to some) argument to push this line of reasoning. I think disclosure is the ethical thing here.
That said, I'd also argue that the clinical doctorates being rolled out in many fields don't actually add any value.
If we can prove the public has no clue & that they are going to be harmed, there could be a compelling (to some) argument to push this line of reasoning.
But worst case scenario, someone misunderstands and thinks that the psychologist or physical therapist or audiologist or NP or PA is a physician. How would harm come of that? The clinician would probably have to be practicing outside of their scope in order fo any harm to come as a result of any misunderstanding.
You could just as easily argue that physicians don't need a doctorate, since a large percentage do not, and seem to get along just fine.
I think there is plenty of value in adding research or teaching expertise to a clinical education. It isn't necessary for clinical practice and I probably wouldn't agree that it should be mandatory, but it certainly can have value.
Just thought of this: There is a precedent for non-physicians being called "Doctor" in the hospital. Clinical Psych (PsyD and PhD) have been called Doctor for a long time. I don't think clinical psych going by "Doctor" this has ever led to adverse outcomes…
I think healthcare economics is much more complex and elastic than that. First, I don't think there's any reason to believe that increasing educational requirements a modest amount will have much effect on labor supply - I can tell you that as of right now, there is no difference in compensation between a NP or CRNA with a MSN vs. one with a DNP or PhD in most areas, if any.However, I would say this - the biggest harm is probably going to be financial, both for the healthcare system at large and for patients (consumers, at the end of the day, bear all costs). Do doctorally-prepared providers have higher salaries? Probably, yeah, because the barrier to entry is higher (ceteris paribus, there are going to be less of them). I don't have any empirics on this one, just going back to first principles.
At the end of the day, consumers could very well be harmed by providing too much time in school to providers who don't need it.
I don't think there's any reason to believe that increasing educational requirements a modest amount will have much effect on labor supply - I can tell you that as of right now, there is no difference in compensation between a NP or CRNA with a MSN vs. one with a DNP or PhD in most areas, if any.
Yeah, I don't think we need to worry about midlevels - who provide great value in the first place - breaking the bank if their compensation goes up some.