Do you address Pharmacists as "doctors"?

[Syringer]

I'm drafting a letter to a pharmacist and I'm not sure if I should refer to him as "Dr. ____" or "Mr. _____"..what's appropriate?

 

[pontifex]

i don't think they are doctors.

 

[Glitchny]

NO. Half of them couldnt find a way out of a paper bag.

 

[zinfamous]

no. I'm not sure what they're certificate is, but it is analogous to an M.S. I should ask my pal.....

just go with Mr. ...because you wouldn't really say "Mr Johson, M.S."

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Glitchny
NO. Half of them couldnt find a way out of a paper bag.

yeah, i worked tech support for a larhe pharmacy chain for 4 years. i'm not sure i want them handling any drugs i may use...

 

[Syringer]

Originally posted by: zinfamous
no. I'm not sure what they're certificate is, but it is analogous to an M.S. I should ask my pal.....

just go with Mr. ...because you wouldn't really say "Mr Johson, M.S."

It's a pharm D degree..or doctorate of Pharmacy. Ph.D's are addressed as doctors though yes?

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: Glitchny
NO. Half of them couldnt find a way out of a paper bag.

one of them F you in the A recently?

 

[meltdown75]

i would just play dumb and probably use Dr. regardless

 

[DangerAardvark]

"Hey Mr. Pusher Man".

 

[Glitchny]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Glitchny
NO. Half of them couldnt find a way out of a paper bag.

one of them F you in the A recently?

not really. just never thought they deserved to be considered doctors in general. And im referring to the pharmacists who only really stand a step higher and are able to count pills as they put them in a bottle which a real doctor told them to do.

Pharmacists who actually work in medicine creating new drugs etc are smart ppl and deserve respect. but most of them are just glorified bottle fillers.

 

[Throckmorton]

My sister in law is a pharmacist. It's Mr./Mrs./Ms.

 

[Wapp]

Originally posted by: Glitchny

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Glitchny
NO. Half of them couldnt find a way out of a paper bag.

one of them F you in the A recently?

not really. just never thought they deserved to be considered doctors in general. And im referring to the pharmacists who only really stand a step higher and are able to count pills as they put them in a bottle which a real doctor told them to do.

Pharmacists who actually work in medicine creating new drugs etc are smart ppl and deserve respect. but most of them are just glorified bottle fillers.

I think most Pharmacists don't even count the pills, the Pharm Techs do that. A Pharmacist mostly does quality control.

 

[uclaLabrat]

A Pharm D probably understands more about drugs and biology than 99% of medical doctors. The program is just as long and just as hard, save for residency I imagine

 

[homercles337]

Originally posted by: Syringer

Originally posted by: zinfamous
no. I'm not sure what they're certificate is, but it is analogous to an M.S. I should ask my pal.....

just go with Mr. ...because you wouldn't really say "Mr Johson, M.S."

It's a pharm D degree..or doctorate of Pharmacy. Ph.D's are addressed as doctors though yes?

PhD sometimes, though not preferred (personally at least). PharmD no, never. If you address a pharmD as Dr you are going to come off as a kiss ass. Come to think of it, same goes for PhD.

Edit: The Dr title is generally reserved for clinicians.

 

[Mxylplyx]

Pharmacy is a field that is mostly obsolete thanks to advances in IT. The entire field should be done away with.

 

[Epic Fail]

Mr Med School Dropout?

 

[RKS]

Originally posted by: uclaLabrat
A Pharm D probably understands more about drugs and biology than 99% of medical doctors. The program is just as long and just as hard, save for residency I imagine

My sister-in-law has a PharmD and I have a lot of doctors in my family. I always ask her if I have any questions regarding medicine/interactions/side-effects/dosage/etc.

 

[preCRT]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton
My sister in law is a pharmacist. It's Mr./Mrs./Ms.

:thumbsup:

 

[SludgeFactory]

I would personally give them the respect of Dr in written correspondence. You can tack on PharmD at the end of the name if this is being CC'd to a bunch of people and could be confusing.

The real problem comes in addressing them (or allied health personnel w/ doctoral degrees, or even Ph.D's) as doctor in a clinical setting. "Doctor" means MD/DO/DDS to most everybody working within the system, and certainly to the patients. It's totally confusing for them, and you're also going to ruffle the feathers of the MD's.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Glitchny
NO. Half of them couldnt find a way out of a paper bag.

yeah, i worked tech support for a larhe pharmacy chain for 4 years. i'm not sure i want them handling any drugs i may use...

wow. the pharmacist i go to is great. my wife is allergic to penicillin. she had a emergency and the doctor gave her a penicillin generic. we get to the pharmacy to fill it up. he knows my wife is allergic to it and called the doctor about it. at first they refused to change it to something else until they actually looked in her records. took like 2 hours before she got something she can use.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: Syringer

Originally posted by: zinfamous
no. I'm not sure what they're certificate is, but it is analogous to an M.S. I should ask my pal.....

just go with Mr. ...because you wouldn't really say "Mr Johson, M.S."

It's a pharm D degree..or doctorate of Pharmacy. Ph.D's are addressed as doctors though yes?

 

[gururu2]

Originally posted by: homercles337

PhD sometimes, though not preferred (personally at least). PharmD no, never. If you address a pharmD as Dr you are going to come off as a kiss ass. Come to think of it, same goes for PhD.

Edit: The Dr title is generally reserved for clinicians.

this couldn't be further from the truth. PhD means doctor of philosophy, and the prefix Dr. is always used in any professional atmosphere for PhDs and should be used for PharmDs as well (Doctor of Pharmacy). The individuals at pharmacies that are completing orders are typically not PharmDs, except for one or two that are running the show. On account of this, it becomes confusing knowing who is the actual doctor and so the prefix is seldom used. Some pharmacies will not let you complete an order until an actual PharmD comes over to you and explains the potential biochemical problems associated with the drug. Sometimes you have to wait a while until he or she is free. That individual would be correctly addressed as doctor.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Glitchny
NO. Half of them couldnt find a way out of a paper bag.

yeah, i worked tech support for a larhe pharmacy chain for 4 years. i'm not sure i want them handling any drugs i may use...

wow. the pharmacist i go to is great. my wife is allergic to penicillin. she had a emergency and the doctor gave her a penicillin generic. we get to the pharmacy to fill it up. he knows my wife is allergic to it and called the doctor about it. at first they refused to change it to something else until they actually looked in her records. took like 2 hours before she got something she can use.

Same here. I've had to pick up my grandmother's medication in the past (she's on a lot of stuff) and there have been a few times where the pharmacist has alerted us about complications that may occur as a result of allergies or reactions with other medication.

It typically happens with new Dr.'s, so both the family and the pharmacist know to be even more careful if whoever prescribing the medication isn't the normal Doc.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Syringer
I'm drafting a letter to a pharmacist and I'm not sure if I should refer to him as "Dr. ____" or "Mr. _____"..what's appropriate?

Not all Pharmacists are PH.D's.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Glitchny
NO. Half of them couldnt find a way out of a paper bag.

one of them F you in the A recently?

He failed his PCAT.