A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into specialty training with the end goal of securing a license to practice within their respective jurisdiction. Medical graduates may also pursue non-clinical careers including those in basic research and positions within the healthcare industry. A worldwide study conducted in 2011 indicated on average: 64 university exams, 130 series exams, and 174 assignments are completed over the course of 5.5 years. As a baseline, students need greater than an 85% in prerequisite courses to enrol for the aptitude test in these degree programs.[1][failed verification]
Undergraduate medical degrees[edit]
- Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, BMBS, MBChB, MBBCh)
- Bachelor of Medicine (B.Med, MB, BM)
- Bachelor of Surgery (B.S)/(B.Surg)
The MBBS is also awarded at the graduate level, meaning the applicant already has an undergraduate degree prior to commencing their medical studies (graduate entry).[2][3]
Graduate medical degrees[edit]
- Doctor of Medicine (MD, Dr.MuD, Dr.Med)
- Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)
Comparison of allopathic and osteopathic medical degrees[edit]
| Medical degree type | Undergraduate
(Post-secondary) |
Graduate
(Post-baccalaureate) |
Graduate
(Post-baccalaureate) |
Graduate
(Post-baccalaureate) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Degree name | Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery;
or Bachelor of Medicine |
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery | Doctor of Medicine | Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine |
| Degree abbreviation | MBBS, BMBS, MBChC, MBChB, MBBCh;
or MB, BM, BMed |
MBBS, BMBS, MBChC, MBBCh | MD | DO |
| Admission | Follows secondary education (standard course) | Follows an undergraduate degree (graduate-entry) | Follows an undergraduate degree (professional doctorate) | Follows an undergraduate degree (professional doctorate) |
| Duration | 5 to 6 years | 4 years (accelerated) | 4 years | 4 years |
| Countries offering the degree (not exhaustive list) | United Kingdom, Ireland, India, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Australia, and China, Saudi Arabia[4] | United Kingdom[5] and Ireland[6] | United States, Canada, Israel, UAE, Australia | United States |
Some countries, especially Eastern European and former Soviet republics (Russia, Ukraine, Armenia) offer post-secondary, undergraduate, 6-year medical programs, which confer the title Doctor of Medicine as their medical qualification.
Post-graduate medical degrees[edit]
- Master of Clinical Medicine (MCM)
- Master of Medical Science (MMSc, MMedSc)
- Master of Public Health (MPH)
- Master of Medicine (MM, MMed)
- Master of Philosophy (MPhil)
- Master of Philosophy in Ophthalmology (MPhO)
- Master of Public Health and Ophthalmology (MPHO)
- Master of Surgery (MS, MSurg, MChir, MCh, ChM, CM)
- Master of Science in Medicine or Surgery (MSc)
- Doctor of Medicine of by research MD(Res), DM
- Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)
- Doctor of Clinical Medicine (DCM)
- Doctor of Clinical Surgery (DClinSurg)
- Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc, DMedSc)
- Doctor of Surgery (DS, DSurg)
- Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM)
Alternative medical degrees[edit]
- Ayurveda - BSc, MSc, BAMC, MD (Ayurveda), M.S. (Ayurveda), Ph.D. (Ayurveda)
- Siddha medicine - BSMS, MD(Siddha), Ph.D(Siddha)[7]
- Acupuncture - BSc, LAc, DAc, AP, DiplAc, MAc
- Chiropractic -
- Herbalism Acs, BSc, Msc.
- Homeopathy - BSc, MSc, DHMs, BHMS, M.D. (HOM), PhD in homoeopathy
- Naprapathy - DN
- Naturopathic medicine - BSc, MSc, BNYS, MD (Naturopathy), ND, NMD
- Oriental Medicine - BSc, MSOM, MSTOM, KMD (Korea), BCM (Hong Kong), MCM (Hong Kong), BChinMed (Hong Kong), MChinMed (Hong Kong), MD (Taiwan), MB (China), TCM-Traditional Chinese medicine master (China)
- Osteopathy - BOst, BOstMed, BSc (Osteo), DipOsteo
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ The BMJ — 13 August 2011, Volume 343, Number 7819
- ^ "Medicine (Graduate-entry/ Accelerated)". University of Oxford.
- ^ "Medicine (Graduate entry)". St George's University of London.
- ^ "Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) | College of Medicine | Alfaisal University". 2023-06-16. Archived from the original on 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
- ^ Paul (2021-10-14). "Graduate Entry Medicine". The Medic Portal. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
- ^ "BMBS Programme | University of Limerick School of Medicine". www.ul.ie. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
- ^ "A Career in Siddha Medicine – आयुष मंत्रालय, भारत सरकार". Retrieved 2021-11-23.
