Disclaimer

Basha is a student practitioner at this time, and although board certified, is not a regular conventional physician or primary doctor. She is a natural/functional medicine specialist and helps fill in the gaps of conventional, Western medicine. She cannot diagnose physical or psychological diseases or prescribe pharmaceuticals. Everyone’s condition presents differently, and these unique differences are what is addressed at Basha Holistics. The aim of natural medicine is never to replace conventional medicine, but to add to one's healing success and assess each individual in detail. Blog content and therapeutic protocols are for educational purposes only and are not to be taken as medical advice. The best way to achieve lasting health is through combining conventional medicine with holistic medicine. Let us know how we can best serve you and work with your other doctors for comprehensive care.

Are we doctors? What does doctor mean to us?

We are doctors, not physicians. To paraphrase Dr. Paul Drouin, Doctor, contracted ‘Dr' or 'Dr.,' originates from Latin meaning ‘teacher,’ from docēre ‘to teach.’[1] Throughout much of the academic world, the term Doctor is an academic title used since the 13th century to refer to someone who has earned a doctoral degree, the highest academic degree conferred by a university.[2] This is normally the Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated PhD or Ph.D.

Basha Gerstenfeld’s PhD degree implies she has earned her doctoral degree and can, therefore, use the title 'Doctor,' abbreviated 'Dr' or 'Dr.'

But in many English-speaking countries, it is common (starting in the mid-18th century[3]) to refer to physicians by the title of doctor, regardless of whether or not they hold a doctoral-level degree. The word Doctor has long had a secondary meaning in English of physician.[2] A physician is a medical doctor, either an M.D. or D.O., who has completed graduate training and acquired licensing to provide health care. So this can cause some confusion, as all physicians are doctors but not all doctors are physicians.[4]

Basha Gerstenfeld does not have the equivalent or comparable degree to a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.), or a Doctor of Naturopathy (N.D.) and therefore is NOT a physician or naturopath.

In the United States, the use of the title 'Doctor' is dependent upon the setting,[2] as this has been a social custom and etiquette debate for many years. The Emily Post Institute advises that "people who have earned a Ph.D. or any other academic, nonmedical doctoral degree have the choice of whether to use ‘Dr.’ both professionally and socially."[5] But many US states now require healthcare providers to clearly and honestly state their level of training, education, and licensing.[6]

Ultimately, the safest and simplest way for a non-physician practitioner to avoid confusing the clients is:

They must have a PhD degree in order to use the appellation 'Doctor' or 'Dr.'
They should use post-nominals[7] to clarify the level of education and “define the nature of their doctorate degree."[8]

As an example, when writing and advertising in the United States and Canada, we recommend:
'Dr. Jane Smith, PhD, DNM - Doctor of Natural Medicine.'

The customary abbreviation of ‘Doctor’ is usually written as 'Dr.' in North America,[2] however, the US Postal Service prefers punctuation to be omitted from addresses.[9] We recognize that etiquette states “If post-nominals are given, the full name should be used without ‘Dr.’ prefix”[10] (e.g. Jane Smith, PhD, DNM - Doctor of Natural Medicine.) However, if the ‘Dr’ prefix is used before the full name, we still recommend adding post-nominals for transparency.

References

[1] "Doctor.” 2019. Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved 25 June 2019.

[2] “Doctor (title)” 2019. Wikipedia.org. Retrieved 25 June 2019.

[3] Byrnum, William. "When did medical practitioners start to be called 'doctor'?". 28 June 2013. History Extra. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 25 June 2019.

[4] Whitlock, Jennifer. Doctors, Residents, Interns, and Attendings: What's the Difference?. 19 May 2019. In verywellhealth.com Retrieved Retrieved 25 June 2019.

[5] "Professional Titles". Emily Post Institute. Retrieved 25 June 2019.

[6] Cocchi, Renee. "'Truth in Advertising' legislation for providers growing in popularity". 19 October 2012. Healthcare Business & Technology. Catalyst Media Network. Retrieved 25 June 2019.

[7] “Post-nominal letters” 2019. Wikipedia.org. Retrieved 25 June 2019.

[8] "Clarification of the Title "Doctor" in the Hospital Environment D-405.991". American Medical Association. Retrieved 25 June 2019.

[9] "Punctuation". Publication 28 - Postal Addressing Standards. US Postal Service. May 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2019.

[10] Vildilill, Will. “Etiquette for the Alphabet Soup of Post-Nominal Letters”. 15 January 2016. LinkedIn.com. Retrieved 25 June 2019.

(Paul Drouin, Quantum University. https://admission.quantumuniversity.com/s/article/the-title-of-doctor1-2020-03-03-13-22-34)