Regarding Dr. Jacob Appel’s op-ed “Why call anyone ‘Dr.’?” (Dec. 29, TribLIVE): As a professor who calls her students by their first names and asks them to reciprocate, I agree that professional titles should be eschewed. But why does Appel find it “distressing” that female doctors are sometimes mistaken for nurses? Aren’t nurses just as valuable as doctors?

I hope any female doctor who is mistaken for a nurse will say, “I’m a doctor, and I’m honored that you think I’m as caring and considerate as a nurse. I’ll try to live up to your expectation.”

Felicia Nimue Ackerman

Providence, R.I.

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