English Translation
I need a doctor.
Is there a difference between docteur and médecin or are they truly interchangeable?
Technically, docteur is a title. You can call yourself a “docteur” if you have the corresponding diploma, called “doctorat”.
You can be a docteur in many different fields: docteur en économie, docteur en sciences cognitives, docteur en droit…
In practice, people will often use “docteur” and “médecin” interchangeably. When you hear someone use the word “docteur” in France, you can reasonably assume that they are referring to a health professional and often to their GP.
In this context, a “docteur” is really a “docteur en médecine”, aka “médecin”.
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