Is there a doctor in the house?

When it is realized that American universities award nearly 50,000 different kinds of doctorates annually, it is little wonder that some should ask, "What is a real doctor?" This paper explores briefly the view which holds that the term "doctor" should be reserved for those whose long years of intensive study and practice in the field of medicine entitles them to this special designation. Attention is also given to the opposing view which argues that the phenomenon of doctoring, in the broad and generic sense, properly encompasses, not alone the field of medicine, but a number of disciplines that seek "to restore to good condition."