Doctor Doctor was a title used by physicians and the holders of certain advanced university degrees . According to River Song , the word came from the renegade Time Lord known as the Doctor , ( TV : " A Good Man Goes to War " ) The Doctor himself seemed to concur with this claim ; the Fourth Doctor told Harry Sullivan " " You may be a doctor . But I am " the " Doctor . The definite article , you might say . " " ( TV : " Robot " ) The Twelfth Doctor likewise clarified to Grant that he was " the " Doctor and that he " started it " , claiming himself to be " " The one . The main one , the original . " " , he went on to say that all other doctors were " based on [ him ] " and " now everyone who wants to sound clever calls themselves " doctor " . " ( TV : " The Return of Doctor Mysterio " ) The First Doctor also claimed to be the original doctor upon hearing his twelfth incarnation call himself " the Doctor " . ( TV : " The Doctor Falls " ) While the term originally and typically meant " healer " or " wise man " , some cultures by the 52nd century used the word to mean " great warrior " due to their fear of the Doctor . It was implied that the word ' s true origin had been forgotten . ( TV : " A Good Man Goes to War " ) The Eleventh Doctor considered the title to mean " total , screaming genius " and " modest and a tiny bit sexy . " ( TV : " Asylum of the Daleks " ) In the 21st century , the title could be mistaken for the moniker of a drug dealer . ( TV : " The Lodger " ) While Dr Solow mentioned in 2084 that her training as a doctor meant that murder did not come easy to her , ( TV : " Warriors of the Deep " ) by the 45th century , to behave like a doctor was to kill people . ( AUDIO : " Plague of the Daleks " ) The Doctor as a medical doctor . When asked by Polly Wright if his name implied he was a medical doctor , the Second Doctor claimed he graduated in Medicine in 1888 in Glasgow . ( TV : " The Moonbase " ) Though Clara would later explain that he graduated in the wrong century . ( TV : " Death in Heaven " ) On other occasions , his first , ( TV : " The Forest of Fear " , " Mighty Kublai Khan " ) fourth , ( TV : " The Ark in Space " ) and fifth incarnations claimed " not " to be a doctor of medicine . ( AUDIO : " Red Dawn " ) The Fourth Doctor simply said he was a doctor of " many things " . ( TV : " Revenge of the Cybermen " ) The First Doctor claimed to be a " doctor of science " . ( TV : " The Massacre " ) When questioned , the Sixth Doctor replied that he was a doctor of " this and that , mostly that " . ( AUDIO : " The Spectre of Lanyon Moor " ) The Tenth Doctor introduced himself as a doctor " of everything " on Silo 16 , leading Professor Yana to recognise him as a fellow scientist . ( TV : " Utopia " ) Despite all this , the Doctor has shown medical knowledge on several occasions . ( TV : " World War Three " , " The Doctor Dances " , " New Earth " , " The Age of Steel " , " Smith and Jones " , " The Shakespeare Code " , " Planet of the Ood " , " The Poison Sky " , " The Unicorn and the Wasp " , " The Vampires of Venice , etc " ) In several circumstances , the Doctor let others think his title was to be intended as a physician . mentioned the Doctor ' s title as being " the man who makes people better " . ( TV : " The Sound of Drums " ) The Doctor , in various incarnations , was known to assure people , " It ' s alright , I ' m a doctor . " ( TV : " Ghost Light " , " Meglos " , " The Shakespeare Code " , " Vincent and the Doctor " , " Knock Knock " ) Though it was later revealed that the Doctor chose the title with the promise to be " Never cruel or cowardly ; never give up , never give in . " ( TV : " The Day of the Doctor " )