charliehall: Back in the day, when these women were doctors, the concept of medical school certainly existed but in much more of an abstract way. Chances are, even the male doctors in many of those Middle Age/Renaissance villages didn’t have degrees and probably achieved their level of experience by apprenticeship, as the women probably did.
By rebbetzin, while I agree that being married to a rabbi doesn’t mean that you’re more holy or wise than anyone else, many do feel the prestige of the title. My entire point is that when you have the option of using someone with a title or without, it’s obvious which one people will choose. It’s hard, albeit possible, to achieve fame without obvious credentials.