Just when your grandmother has finally stopped nagging you about finding a nice doctor, M.D.’s are suddenly hot again, ranking a close second (to firefighters, natch) as the city’s most datable profession. This time, though, it’s not about the Mercedes, or the golf vacations. “It’s definitely the direct contact to the Cipro … and the Valium … and of course there’s the Xanax,” muses a 29-year-old woman who suddenly remembered to call back that nice-but-no-sparks dermatologist, visions of prescription pads dancing in her head, and was mulling over a second date with a boring psychiatrist she was fixed up with last summer. But it’s not just the drugs. After being bombarded with so much confusing – and often conflicting – information, it’s nice to be around someone who knows his spores, is equipped to administer a nasal swab, and has no problems pronouncing the word cutaneous. “Their role in society – or, I guess, in dating society – is significant again. It’s like the late eighties,” says one 26-year-old television programmer who is suddenly over those indie filmmakers who once seemed so boyish and cute. In a world where there’s little comfort to be found at the moment, competence is the next best thing. “There’s something very calming right now about being with someone who can speak to you in medical terms,” says one woman. Adds another: “I’d certainly rather date a doctor than someone who works at NBC.”