When can I call myself 'Dr.'?

[Kyutrexx]

Hi,

I have recently passed the Hammerexamen. I am now applying for jobs in the UK. Is it ok to call myself 'Dr' ?

In the UK, you should do that.
As far as I know, most people there do not know that you have to write a paper (and get it passed) in order to call yourself "doctor".

However, you CANNOT write "Dr. John Doe" on your card.
You have to write "John Doe, M.D.".

Therefore, in spoken language, you can call yourself "doctor" (or do you want to say "I have studied medicine in Germany where you have to write a paper to get your title, but I didn't do that until now and because of the different education systems, we have problems with differentiating those two ways of using the title" every time?), but you cannot write "Dr. John Doe" (but "John Doe, M.D." instead).

[Fino]

Anyone who graduated from medical school can call himself "doctor" in the UK. If you want to point out, however, that you have completed your doctoral thesis your title would be "XY, MD" but you would still be addressed as "doctor" just like all the folks without doctoral thesis.

[Thomas24]

In the UK, unlike the US, the "M.D." is a postgraduate qualification that is not automatically conferred to you upon graduation, but usually requires some additional research as well as a thesis.

Nevertheless, most UK graduates are addressed as "doctor" by the hospital staff anyway, although they don´t formally hold the academic degree of M.D. or even Ph.D.

The funny thing about the usage in England is, that you revert to "Mr." or "Mrs." in some surgical specialties, once you progress in your career and get to a more senior level.

For e.g. young resident trainee in a surgical specialty = doctor...=> a few years later, after having passed the royal College Examinations or becoming a registrar => Mr. (mostly in England).

[Muriel]

Same in Ireland