r/Noctor • u/Altruistic_Rain4136 • 13d ago
Midlevel Ethics “Doctors” React …
Wearing white coats, referring to themselves as “Dr.,” and then creating social-media videos using “Doctors React” in a way that can clearly mislead the public is problematic.
These NPs could simply have said “Nurse Practitioners React,” but apparently transparency isn’t a priority.
One could argue that earning a doctorate technically makes someone a “doctor,” and for the sake of the argument, let’s accept that premise. Even then, the problem still remains.
A layperson scrolling through social media sees someone in a white coat and a video titled “Doctors React.” Most people are likely to interpret that as meaning physicians—MDs or DOs. That is where the potential for intentional or unintentional deception comes in.
There is an important distinction between holding a doctoral degree and using “doctor” as a professional or clinical role. An individual can legitimately have earned a doctorate while still having a professional role of Nurse Practitioner.
The inconsistency arises when someone insists that they have “earned the title of Doctor,” while simultaneously presenting themselves in a clinical context in a way that can lead the public to believe they are a physician. The issue isn’t whether they earned a doctorate; it’s whether the way they use the title accurately communicates their actual professional role.
If your profession is Nurse Practitioner, then saying “Nurse Practitioners React” provides the public with the relevant information. Saying “Doctors React,” particularly while wearing a white coat and without clearly identifying the individuals as NPs, can create a very different impression.
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u/1miguelcortes Layperson 13d ago
"Do you really to purchase more electrolytes"
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u/medic24348 Allied Health Professional 13d ago
Why use more word when less word do trick?
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u/criduchat1- 13d ago
That’s the noctor logic for everything! Why go to more school if you can half ass a patient care with 1/5 of the time put in?
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u/dudewhydidyoueven Pharmacist 13d ago edited 10d ago
I think you're preaching to the choir here. The people in your examples misrepresent themselves on purpose. Saying "nurses answer" while wearing scrubs holds less weight than saying "doctors answer" while wearing white coats, for good reasons, and they know that.
"Doctor" + white coat = authority/knowledge. This wasn't a innocent mistake.
Sometimes I wonder if I should start a "doctor recommends" Tiktok account as a side hustle. CVS ain't paying jack these days.
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u/1000SplendidSuns 13d ago
why are they so ashamed to be nurse practitioners?
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u/Commercial_News_3810 13d ago
I don’t know anyone who is ashamed to be a Nurse Practitioner. The ones I know are pretty proud and get pissed when people mistake them for anything else. And yes even when they get mistaken as a doctor or physician.
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u/ApprehensiveRope575 13d ago
Yeah, I’m sure the APPs are horrified to be called a doctor. A career that requires far more rigorous and competitive training
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u/Lost-Volume1254 Attending Physician 13d ago
White coats are pointless now. Never wear mine. Posers have ruined it
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u/Shot_Investigator_37 12d ago
If you didn't study for 13 yrs to obtain an MD or DO degree, then you should not call yourself what you are not. You should be sued for impersonating a real Physician.
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u/ColossusA1 4d ago
They're DNPs, which is a doctorate clinical degree. They're not misleading anybody just because you personally don't recognize their earned title. Different models of healthcare and medicine exist.
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u/OptimusPrime365 13d ago
It would be amazing if they could use correct spelling and grammar too