do you call a nurse practitioner a doctor?
<answer> Yes, some Nurse Practitioners have a PhD in Nursing and in that case you can call them Dr. because they have a PhD. <context> I love NPs and think they are necessary, but they are not doctors! They didn't go to medical school and they do not have carte blanche to practice medicine by themselves. Some Nurse Practitioners have a PhD in Nursing and in that case you can call them Dr. because they have a PhD. Also, that is incorrect, they do have the ability to practice on their own. Nurse practitioners can work without physicians. It is physicians assistants that are trained to work for/with a physician.