Abbreviations After a Doctor's Name

A doctor is considered one of the most prestigious and respected careers. There are a number of different abbreviations after a doctor's name, and while it’s unlikely that you will know them all, some are better known than others.

Doctor Abbreviations

• The abbreviation “MD” means Doctor of Medicine.
• The abbreviation “GP” means General Practitioner.
• The abbreviation “DPhil,” and the abbreviation “PhD” both mean Doctor of Philosophy.
• The abbreviation “MRCOG” means Member Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
• The abbreviation “MS” means Master of Surgery.
• The abbreviation “MRCS” means Member Royal College of Surgeons.
• The abbreviation “FFR” means Fellow Faculty of Radiologists.
• The abbreviation “FFPHM” means Fellow Faculty of Public Health Medicine. 

What Are Some Different Types of Doctors?

There are a variety of different types and specializations of doctors. For example:

• A psychiatrist is a doctor for mental health.
• A podiatrist is a doctor for your feet.
• An optometrist is a doctor for your eyes.
• A dentist is a doctor for your teeth.
• An orthodontist is a specialization within dentistry.
• An urologist is a doctor for your bladder.
• An obstetrician is a doctor for women who are pregnant, and women who are in labor.
• A pediatrician is a doctor for a child.
• An oncologist is a doctor for cancer.
• A neurologist is a doctor for the brain, and the nervous system.
• A cardiologist is a doctor for the heart.
• A nephrologist is a doctor for the kidneys.
• A dermatologist is a doctor for the skin. These are only a few of the different specializations that you can go into after medical school.

How Do You Become a Doctor?

The training for a doctor depends upon what country you are in, and the standards of the country. For example, in some countries you can go straight to medical school after secondary school (or high school). In other countries, you have to attend college before you can go to medical school.

In the United States, you have to first attend college before you can apply to medical school. In college, there are required courses that you must take to apply to medical school. Some of these courses include the following:

• Organic chemistry
• Biology
• Physics
• Calculus
• English
• Biochemistry

After you take the required courses, you also have to take the entrance exam for medical school, called the Medical College Admission Test, also known as the MCATs. The MCATs has four sections: Physical Sciences, Verbal Reasoning, a Writing Sample, and Biological Sciences. The highest score that you can receive on the test is a 45.

If you get admitted to medical school, it is a four year process. Throughout medical school, you have to take several standardized tests that you must pass. For example, after your second or third year (depending upon your medical school), you have to take the USMLE Step 1 test.

The standardized tests that you take throughout medical school are all various parts of the United States Medical Licensing Examination. The examination is broken up throughout medical school, and you need to pass it if you want to practice medicine in the United States.

After you graduate from medical school, and you pass the boards, you then need to complete a residency in a specific field. This field should be the specialty that you want to pursue, such as surgery or pediatrics. If you want to, you can choose to specialize even further after your residency with a fellowship.