Who Is a 'Doctor?' Nurses With Doctorates Sue California

Nurse practitioners want clarification in California restrictions
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 18, 2023 10:53 AM CDT
Who Is a 'Doctor?' Nurses' Lawsuit Seeks Clarification
   (Getty / daizuoxin)

A nurse practitioner is not a doctor, but what about a nurse practitioner who happens to have a doctorate? It's no mere rhetorical game—the matter is the subject of a lawsuit in California, reports the Palm Springs Desert Sun. Three nurse practitioners who also have their doctorates in nursing are challenging the state's restriction that only physicians or surgeons can identify themselves professionally with the "Dr." honorific, per Cal Coast News. "It's not an ego trip," one of the trio, Jacqueline Palmer, tells the Washington Post. "It's not a power trip. It's just validation that I worked hard to get where I am today."

The nurse practitioners—who earned that title by obtaining a master's degree and completing additional training, on top of their nursing credentials—say they are not out to mislead patients. All say they have previously made clear to patients what the "doctor" means in their particular cases. California has particularly stringent rules on the matter, and the lawsuit came after another nurse practitioner (also with a doctorate) was fined about $20,000 by the state after an anonymous complaint that she was using "Dr." before her name.

"California has appropriated a common title used by a variety of educated professionals and reserved it for legal use by only a select group of professionals," the lawsuit reads. "Under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, professionals may speak truthfully about their titles without the threat of fines, loss of license, and other regulatory action to strip them of their livelihoods. This case seeks to vindicate those constitutional rights." (More nursing stories.)

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