Non-wedding Invitation Etiquette

bel138 · May 2010

DH's friend is graduating from pharmacy school, and her mom is throwing her a grad party. The invitation is inviting you to celebrate the graduation of Dr. First Last. So, cool because it's a grad party for a doctoral student or not cool because it's still a social invitation and it's not a medical doctor? All I can find online is about wedding invites.

crfische · May 2010

I think it's cute.

Granted I don't know what the REAL etiquette is on it, but I think I'd do it for a graduation.

jasmineh7777 · May 2010

I'm not sure what the rule is. I have several profressors who aren't medical doctors, but prefer to be addressed as Dr. since they have their Phd.

lauralaur · May 2010

I *think* doctor is correct, but I'm not entirely sure.

sarah0725 · May 2010

I think I'd let it slide, whatever the etiquette. Since it's a graduation party, she's celebrating the fact that she gets to put Dr. in front of her name.

I sometimes tease FI that he's going to have to call me Dr. Myname for a month after I graduate, because I will be so happy about it.

boogerbearoriginal · May 2010

I think its fine because they aren't addressing the invitation to Dr. Friend, its a party in the honor of Dr. Friend.

fangsiting · May 2010

Are pharmacists called doctors though? I know its common for PhDs and of course MDs, but I don't know that I've ever heard a pharmacist go by Dr. X. If my mom sent out invitations for my law school graduation and said come celebrate the graduation of Dr. Fang, I know I'd be embarrassed. Even if its a doctorate degree, no one uses the title dr for lawyers. I think it would be fine for someone like a PhD candidate. Even though its a social party, its to celebrate the degree that allows them to be called "Dr." If pharmacists use that title, too then I think the invitation is fine. If not, its weird.

andy71781 · May 2010

I think pharmacists are called Dr such and such. With doctors its best to err on the side of caution.

debjwes · May 2010

yes pharmacists are called dr's. the have their phD in pharmacology

bel138 · May 2010

Well, obviously, I know they are doctors of pharmacy. But I have never heard someone call them Dr. So&so. I've also not heard of a lawyer being called Dr. So&so. Or a professor outside of academia. And they all have doctoral degrees too.

debjwes · May 2010

He has a title that they've earned and he's allowed to use it. If he decides to be called that on a daily basis or not. He's still a dr. Maybe they just wanted to send an invite with his title so everyone know what he accomplished. Either way, it's ok.

fangsiting · May 2010

H says pharamacists aren't don't use the title Dr even if they have a PhD.

I don't think the invitation is inappropriate, it's not like it's celebrating the birthday of Dr. Pharmacist, it's celebrating her degree. It's just weird if she will never be called Dr. Pharmacist in her career. At least academic PhDs will be called Dr during their careers by students & their peers.

pooh8402 · May 2010

it's not inappropriate to refer to a pharmacist as Dr., because he/she is one. no etiquette rules broken here. a friend of mine is graduating with his Pharm.D. this weekend as well, and I'll jokingly call him Dr. Dong (play on his last name), but I don't think he'll ever ask people to *call* him Doctor.

brookelynpaisley · May 2010

It's fine because she's graduating. It's kind of the exception to the "no formal names on social invites" hoopla.

brookelynpaisley · May 2010

And now I wish I'd made my husband refer to me as Tax Master Lastname my whole graduation weekend. I missed that boat. It would just verge on obnoxious now.

alecat9 · May 2010

*Long-time Lurker* It has to do with the fact that to become a pharmacist you used to only need a bachelor's degree in pharmocolgy, but laws now dictate a doctorate. Because older BS pharmacists were grandfathered in, the younger/newer pharmacists with doctorates often chose not to use their title. IMO, if you finish that much schooling with a doctorate, you can use the title Dr. (and I had a number of professor who graduated in non-medical fields of academia who used their Dr. title, i.e. highschool English teacher=Dr. XXX, or art history teacher= Dr. YYY)

tenofcups4me · May 2010

I think it makes perfect sense to use it -- it's party in honor of her achieving her doctorate. Of course, she'd be named as Dr.

But on top of that, it makes ZERO sense to me that medical doctors are addressed as Dr. on social invitations, but not others. To me, it should be one or the other-- all doctors should use it or none.

mizri · May 2010

It makes sense to use it. I would do it.

I actually went to college with a girl who was going for her PhD in Psych and when she got married, she refused to take her husband's name so that one day she can be called "Dr. Pepper"

beatlesgirl25 · May 2010

I think it's fine and a cute way to celebrate her new PhD, which is a big deal to some people. It's more like a theme for the party I think. The only reason to be concerned about etiquette would be if the guests were being addressed as Dr. so and so because they had their PhDs. Even then, I'd still probably let it slide.

pooh8402 · May 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_non-wedding-invitation-etiquette?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:d0a95b41-19ca-4aae-9764-cbc3d7124394Post:e671dbb9-54d7-495d-ba4a-a9777a475c45">Re: Non-wedding Invitation Etiquette</a>:
[QUOTE]It makes sense to use it. I would do it. I actually went to college with a girl who was going for her PhD in Psych and when she got married, she refused to take her husband's name so that one day she can be called "Dr. Pepper"
Posted by mizri[/QUOTE]

I knew a girl in college with the last name Pepper as well. we've also joked about her getting a doctorate eventually.

mizri · May 2010

Pooh, wouldn't it be funny if it were the same girl? I saw that you're from Houston, I'm from south of Houston...

thesuninherhead · May 2010

Did he complete a 'Doctor of Pharmacy' degree? Because in that case, he can legitimately refer to himself using the 'Dr' title, as far as I understand... 'Dr' isn't a title reserved for medical practitioners.

*and you can be damn sure that when I finish my PhD (which is through the school of medicine, but completely unrelated to practicing medicine) at the end of the year, I will be adding a 'Dr' to my s/n, ha!

thesuninherhead · May 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_non-wedding-invitation-etiquette?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:d0a95b41-19ca-4aae-9764-cbc3d7124394Post:3e6fbd3f-af78-491a-9aa8-bbf1201f3633">Re: Non-wedding Invitation Etiquette</a>:
[QUOTE]H says pharamacists aren't don't use the title Dr even if they have a PhD.
Posted by fangsiting[/QUOTE]
<p> </p><p>I think you'd find that if you went into academia, everyone (in every discipline) uses the title 'Dr' if they have a PhD, and this is regarded as appropriate use. </p>

TupeloChick · May 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_non-wedding-invitation-etiquette?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:d0a95b41-19ca-4aae-9764-cbc3d7124394Post:8de29e88-7413-4fad-8538-2c349298ef02">Re: Non-wedding Invitation Etiquette</a>:
[QUOTE]Are pharmacists called doctors though?
Posted by fangsiting[/QUOTE]

<div>If your friend went to a school of pharmacology and received his/her Doctor of Pharmacology degree, then yes, he/she is a doctor and has earned the right to be called "Doctor". Docs of Pharm go to school for six years and study many of the same courses as an MD (Chem, Anat, Biol., etc.)</div><div>
</div><div>If your friend graduated for a tech school to become a Pharmacy Technician, then he/she is not a Doctor of Pharmacology and has not eared the right to be called "Doctor:" Pharm Techs generally receive their degrees in a few weeks. It's like becoming an X-Ray tech or US tech.</div>

ootmother2 · May 2010

let it go, it's a party invitation.

However, in this country it is incorrect to use Dr. for a PhD outside academia.

The title of Doctor is for M.D.s, Vets and dentists in social situations.

alecat9 · May 2010

wikipedia:

United States

In the United States, the title "Dr." is commonly used professionally by those who have earned a doctorate-level degree^[35]^[36]^[37]^[38]. In addition, those who have been granted honorary doctorates are entitled to do so, especially in academic settings. The title is also commonly used socially by those holding a doctoral-level degree,^[39] although some suggest restricting usage of such a title to the professional setting in order to avoid the suggestion of differing social stations in the social hierarchy.^[40]

The American College of Clinicians and at least one state^[41] recommends that health care professionals, including physicians, in the clinical setting use identification with an appropriate badge or name tag, as patients encounter a number of different practitioners. For example, all health care professionals should identify themselves and their profession when first meeting a patient.^[42]^[43]

Though lawyers in the United States do not customarily use such a title, the United States law degree is the Juris Doctor, a professional doctorate degree,^[18] and many J.D. holders in the United States use the title of "Doctor", especially in professional^[19] and academic situations.^[20]

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Re: Non-wedding Invitation Etiquette

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