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Comment by whatshisface | Hacker News Reader

People really are bad at DIY medical care... if only we could found a profession dedicated to doing it for them...

I propose we call them, "Doctors," from the Latin word for "teacher," by reference to their role in instructing patients on the things they need to know about their health.

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As an aside, what's with all the chiropractors starting cults and self-help websites and running for office calling themselves "doctors" these days? It's like every time I hear about some dirtbag doctor selling a fake covid cure, turns out to be a chiropractor. Chiropractic was a quack gig to begin with, but whatever online university decided to call it a doctoral degree deserves a special place in hell. Still, doesn't fully explain their disproportionate presence in the snake oil business in the past decade.

If they're "doctor" it's because they completed a doctorate program, typically a D.C.

All people who complete a doctorate program are entitled to be addressed as "doctor". This includes everything from a Ph.D. (the original "doctor"), to M.D.s and D.O.s (medical doctors), and yes, D.C.

>> All people who complete a doctorate program are entitled to be addressed as "doctor"

Well, we have three choices. Either:

1. We change this social norm

2. we come up with a better title for people who didn't get a degree in quackery from an online program, or

3. most people lose all trust in doctors.

There is a glaring difference, though.

The chiropractors aren't having folks call them doctor because they have the right to (as someone with a PhD would do). They are doing it to make folks think they are medical professionals in the same manner as an M.D.

In other words, posing as a medical doctor.

And this kills folks when you consider the sort of scam practices that a lot of chiropractors tend to practice. Honestly, I think it is too bad that we've decided to use the same word for all of these and I'd be happy to change things legally to protect folks from this sort of sham.

Joking aside, if I’m seeing more than one of these hypothetical professions, someone needs to coordinate my care. For myself, I trust me to keep everyone informed. Anyone else wouldn’t have the same incentive to do a good job. After all, I’m the one that suffers the consequences if there’s a mistake. :)

Well, going by our nomenclature for other things, the hypothetical leader of the other practitioners, by analogy to a leader in the army, could be called a "general practitioner."

Age and cognitive issues may hinder you from effectively doing "a good job" of that.

I know. I’m bipolar and have other medical problems. Getting older scares me.

Beyond old age, the vast majority of people are bad at taking care of themselves. So many people that it is not a moral issue. It is a systemic issue.

The problem is, you don’t need to take care of yourself, until you do. Society doesn’t prepare us for that. (I got to learn the hard way.)

For myself, I trust me to keep everyone informed.

All it takes is one accident or affliction to change this ability. Unresponsive due to a car accident, for example, or simply not having your list of information when you got rushed to the hospital. Confusion due to a high fever. A stroke due to an undiagnosed and hidden condition. Heck, simply age or winding up with a complicated health situation can do it.

In short: You really only can trust yourself if you have enough luck.

That’s not the etymology of “doctor.”

They’re called “teachers” because their degree qualifies them to teach medical students.

It has its origin in the medieval academic degree system.

But it’s not in any way about their instruction of patients.

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