Doctor what?

With recent discussions (VT52.07) about the historic use of words related to our profession, I wanted to answer a question that seems both historic and current: Why were vets not called “doctors”, or “dogtors”, from the establishment of the RCVS in 1844?

Currently in the UK vets can use Doctor (or Dr) as an honorary title, thanks to the efforts of Stuart Reid when he was RCVS president in 2015.

There were various reasons for this happening, but it did raise the question above – why had it taken until 2015 for the profession to use the title used so commonly globally across medical profession?

Origins

So, who was originally using the title Doctor in the nineteenth century, and what did it mean?

As with inoculation and vaccination, the title Doctor has seen many different definitions, and the way it is used has been defined (as many words are) by the most popular usage. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the use of doctor around 1844 would have been linked to those with an academic career or role, and not purely for a medical role:

DEFINITION: one who, by reason of his skill in any branch of knowledge, is competent to teach it.

REFERENCE: “The wisest doctor is gravelled by the inquisitiveness of a child.”

SOURCE: Emerson RW (1841). Intellect. In Essays: First Series, London: 327.

DEFINITION: education, professor.

REFERENCE: “With the gravity of a doctor expounding ecclesiastical law.”

SOURCE: Pattison M (1845). Christian Remembrancer, Jan: 82.

Used differently

If “doctor” was used in the mid-nineteenth century for a medical role then it was not the scientifically-based profession that human health care was striving to be. Again, from the OED:

Doctor of medicine “popular current use, applied to any medical practitioner – historically traditional healer, or diviner or one dealing with afflictions from witchcraft”.

So, prior to the Medical Act of 1858 and confirmation of the titles of physician, surgeon and midwife, it was unlikely that medical practitioners would have wished to be associated with the title “doctor”. It was not until family health or general practitioners became more commonplace as health care providers that they sought a medical title separate from physician or surgeon.

In fact, the 1858 act protects the titles of surgeon, physician, midwife and apothecary, with no mention of the title “doctor”:

Not missing out

So, vets weren’t missing out in any way by not being “doctors” from the establishment of the RCVS – they were following the path of professionalisation of parallel medical fields.

In my next blog I will look at the use of “dogtor” or “dog doctor”, which is not just an amusing meme, but actually an interesting part of veterinary history…