Sense of Self
And then there is the matter of identity and self-image. A colleague of mine who makes his living primarily teaching part-time in several graduate schools suggests that he (and others doing this part-time teaching) are operating like migrant workers moving from harvest to harvest. Who is he, and who are the other migrant DO psychologists? What do you tell people when they ask: “So, what is your job?” How do you tell your children that you are a professional psychologist with a doctorate but are right now “out of a job” and are waiting for a new contract to come in? Who am I other than a train-hopping “tramp”? Where is the next train (potential contract), and how do I board this train (get the contract) – especially given my age? And how do I plan for my future years without any retirement plan in place?
In sum, psychologists with a doctorate tend to stick to their profession (steady state). They prefer to do the same kind of work over the lifetime of their career—risking boredom and burnout. They usually are not reliant on a position in an organization (inclined plane). These psychologists tend not to value administrative positions. Greater value is often assigned to moving up in the hierarchy of their professional association. Psychologists with doctorates tend to identify with their profession rather than their organization. Doctoral-level psychologists usually don’t prefer the DO (hobo) setting (unless they are a professional psychologist who is working outside the clinical world). However, they might be found in a Recursive Spiral. However, this shift is usually regarded as merely an addition of new therapeutic skills or adding a new service area to their portfolio. These established professionals are not about to spiral into a new job or new organization, let alone a new profession!
Conclusions
I suggest that there is one tangible way to determine how much a professional psychologist is invested in their identity as someone with a doctorate. This also tends to reveal the career setting in which they now find themselves. The key is to observe how often one makes use of their doctoral title when being introduced to other people. How often do they identify the organization in which they are working or the type of work they are now doing? What do they include in their resume or in their brief bio (description of self)? My prediction in the United States is that 70% of one’s identity is typically invested in the identification of their doctorate. It might be even higher for women. This means that we introduce ourselves and identify ourselves more than half of the time as “Doctor.” That is who we are—most of the time and in most settings. I suspect that this percentage might be much higher in many other countries.
The distinctive culture of the United States has pervaded most other cultures in the world, including in the health care sector. Most of what we have described regarding hierarchies and cultures in the United States holds to some extent for other societies in our 21st-century world. However, several important differences throw important light on assumptions being made about health care services and the meaning and use of the title “Doctor.” The use of “Doctor” is controversial in virtually all countries around the world. in the third essay in this series, Dr. Jim Little specifically considers the use of “Doctor” in another country (Canada).
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