Medical degree

Degree awarded to practice medicine

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

• 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

• Doctor of Medicine (MD, Dr.MuD, Dr.Med)
• Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)

Comparison of allopathic and osteopathic medical degrees

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

• 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

• 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

• Medical education
• Medical school
• Medicine
• Physician
• Surgeon
• Alternative medicine degrees

References

1. The BMJ — 13 August 2011, Volume 343, Number 7819
2. "Medicine (Graduate-entry/ Accelerated)". University of Oxford.
3. "Medicine (Graduate entry)". St George's University of London.
4. "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.
5. Paul (2021-10-14). "Graduate Entry Medicine". The Medic Portal. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
6. "BMBS Programme | University of Limerick School of Medicine". www.ul.ie. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
7. "A Career in Siddha Medicine – आयुष मंत्रालय, भारत सरकार". Retrieved 2021-11-23.