Colorado Technical University

What is the difference in a doctoral degree in physical therapy and a doctorate?

Would you call someone who got their doctoral degree in phys therapy Doctor?

Public Comments

1. i believe they are one and the same. i don't call my therapist doctor. i call her by the first name. generally when you label someone doctor people think medical doctor. she is a doctor but not called on if that makes since.
2. Sure. We call people who get doctorates in science, humanities, engineering, etc 'doctor'. It actually takes longer to get a doctorate in many fields than it takes to get a medical degree to be a medical doctor, and involves original research (MD does not).
3. "Doctor" is a courtesy title that is used when addressing anyone that has a doctorate. It applies to all types of doctorate and includes the MD, PhD, EdD, DMA, DBA, DPH, DPT, PsyD, DA, etc... there are a lot of different doctorate degrees. They are all doctorates but they have different requirements. For some reason, the Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD) usually prefers to not be called 'Doctor' unless teaching in a college. Usually, the PhD is considered the highest academic doctorate. That doesn't mean that the others aren't also a doctorate. Similarly, a Saint Bernard is a really big dog. A poodle is also a dog though. Some people think that only an MD should be called "doctor", reality is that his profession is not "doctor" but is "physician". Doctor simply means "teacher". Addressing the holder of an earned Doctor of Physical Therapy as "doctor" is appropriate.
4. Coach makes a very educated and appropriate answer. Doctor comes from the word "teacher" in Latin...the AMA's attempt to control the use of the word doctor to imply only medical doctors is ludicrous because they've stolen in from teachers! The DPT is a doctoral degree and requires about 7 or 7 1/2 years of education. This is an entry level clinical degree and should not be confused with a PhD. It is certainly acceptable to call someone with a DPT "doctor," but it's not common practice to do so. I use my first name as mentioned by someone above. However, those PTs who've gone onto a PhD (different than a DPT) have established themselves in a very specific area of rehab medicine and have completed a doctoral dissertation...I would be more apt to call someone with this status "Dr"...especially in an academic setting.