Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery

Overview

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, or in Latin Medicinæ Baccalaureus et Baccalaureus Chirurgiæ (abbreviated MB BChir, MB BCh, MB ChB, BM BS, MB BS etc.), are the two degrees awarded after a course of undergraduate study in medicine and surgery at a university in the United Kingdom and other places following its usage, such as medical schools in Australia, Egypt, Hong Kong (People's Republic of China), Iraq, Malaysia, Singapore, Republic of China (Taiwan), Myanmar, New Zealand,Jamaica, South Africa, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan and India. The naming suggests that they are two separate degrees; however, in practice, they are usually treated as one. (At Oxford and Cambridge it is/was possible to be awarded the two degrees on different dates.)

Those holding the degree(s) and practising medicine are usually referred to as "Doctor" and use the prefix "Dr".

The degrees are often used as the Commonwealth equivalent of what is known elsewhere as the degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD). In countries that award bachelors' degrees in medicine, however, the MD refers to a Higher Doctorate, and is reserved for medical practitioners who do research and submit a thesis in the field of medicine.

Naming

The specific names and abbreviations given to these degrees vary from country to country and from one institution or awarding body to the next; this is mostly for reasons of tradition rather than to indicate any significant difference between the relative levels of the degrees. The Latin names are usually given as Medicinae Baccalaureus, Chirugiae Baccalaureus or Baccalaureus in Medicina et in Chirurgia, abbreviated as MB ChB, MB BCh or otherwise; the English versions are Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery or Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, usually abbreviated as MB BS, and rarely as BM BS, even though most MBBS-awarding institutions do not use Latin on their diplomas.

These degrees are not offered in the United States, Canada and other countries. In the United States a medical student typically completes a bachelor's degree (not necessarily in science) during which they take courses meeting pre-medical requirements before pursuing a medical doctorate.

Australia

MB BS are conferred by most Australian medical schools (undergraduate and graduate-entry).

The graduate-entry Flinders medical school confers BM BS.

The University of Newcastle offers the five-year undergraduate degree BMed. Although no degree in surgery is formally awarded by Newcastle, this degree is equivalent to the MB BS, and students may go on to a career in surgery the same as any other graduates in medicine and surgery.

Bangladesh

All 50 medical colleges in Bangladesh (14 public and the rest private) award MB BS.

Egypt

All medical schools in Egypt award MB BCh.

England

Various abbreviations are used for these degrees in England:

• MB ChB are used at the universities of Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Keele, Manchester, Sheffield, and Warwick.
• MB BS are used at the University of East Anglia, Hull York Medical School, Imperial College London, the University of London, and University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
• BM BCh are used at the University of Oxford.
• BM BS are used at University of Nottingham, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry and Brighton Sussex Medical School
• BM is awarded at the University of Southampton. Although no degree in surgery is formally awarded by Southampton, this degree is equivalent to the MB ChB, and students may go on to a career in surgery the same as any other graduates in medicine and surgery.
• MB BChir are awarded by the University of Cambridge.

At Oxford and Cambridge universities the preclinical course leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree (upgradable after 3 or 4 years to Master of Arts), after which most students used to go elsewhere to complete clinical training. They could then take the degrees of their new university or return to their old university to take clinical examinations.

The English Triple Conjoint Diploma of LRCP, LRCS, LMSSA were non-university qualifying examinations in medicine and surgery awarded jointly by the Royal College of Physicians of London, Royal College of Surgeons of England and Society of Apothecaries through the United Examining Board. These qualifications were registrable with the General Medical Council until 1999. Prior to 1994, the English Conjoint diploma of LRCP, MRCS was awarded for over a century, and the LMSSA was a distinct and sometimes less-esteemed qualification.

Hong Kong

The awarding of qualifications in Hong Kong has continued to follow the British tradition despite the handover of the territory's sovereignty from the hands of the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China on 30 June 1997. The dual degree is awarded as:

• MB BS at University of Hong Kong; and
• MB ChB at Chinese University of Hong Kong.

India

Medical schools are popularly known as Medical colleges in India.The medical colleges which teaches allopathy system of medicine award the MBBS degree under the Medical Council of India and State Medical councils' regulations. An MBBS is an undergraduate degree, usually lasting 5½ years, It includes one year of a compulsory rotating internship, but a recent amendment of the Medical Council of India (MCI) Act that would make the undergraduate MBBS course six-and-a-half years long instead of the present five-and-a-half years. The last year of the course will be spent by students in serving patients in rural India. They will have to spend four months each in a public health centre, community health cell and district headquarters. . Completion of an MBBS degree is required in order to apply for, and join, a broad speciality programmes offering the MD / MS degree. Subsequently further super specialisation can lead to DM or MCh degrees.

There also used to be Licentiate qualifications in Medicine and Surgery (LMS) in India, awarded after a shorter course, originally at a "medical school" rather than a "medical college."

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Bombay awarded a Licentiate at LMS level, a Membership (MCPS) at MB BS level and a Fellowship (FCPS) at MD level. The State Medical Faculty of West Bengal (previously of Bengal) also gave Licentiates and Memberships.

Iraq

All medical schools in Iraq award MB ChB.

Ireland

The three degrees of MB BCh BAO are awarded by all medical schools in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland - namely Queen's University Belfast, University of Dublin (Trinity College) and some constituent institutions of the National University of Ireland (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, University College Dublin, University College Cork and National University of Ireland, Galway).

BAO is Baccalaureus in Arte Obstetricia (Bachelor of the Obstetric Art), which the Irish Universities began to award in the 19th century after legislation insisted on a final examination in obstetrics: however this third degree was not registrable with the GMC.

LRCPI LRCSI, or simply LRCP&SI, denotes a holder of the historical non-university qualifying licenciates awarded jointly by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland to students of the RCSI's medical school. Unlike the corresponding licentiates awarded by the Royal Colleges in Scotland and England (which were external qualifications), these qualifications are still registrable with the Irish Medical Council. Students at RCSI still receive these licenciates but now also receive the degrees MB BCh BAO, due to RCSI's status as a recognised college of the National University of Ireland.

The RCSI students also received a Licence in Midwifery (LM) from each college, in the same way that the Irish Universities granted BAO degrees, so their qualifications were sometimes expressed as L & LM, RCPI, L & LM, RCSI or more misleadingly as LLM, RCP&SI.

LAH formerly denoted a licentiate of the now-defunct Apothecaries' Hall, Dublin, and is no longer awarded.

Kenya

The two national universities with medical faculties in Kenya, namely the University of Nairobi and Moi University, award MB ChB.

The traditional route of pursuing a medical degree in Kenya requires one to have high marks in KCSE, a national exam administered at the conclusion of high school. In recent years however, students who can pay their own tuition and those from other countries have been accepted into these programs. It is hoped that these new regulations shall promote the number of locally trained doctors as many are leaving the country in a phenomenon that has been regarded by others as a brain drain.

Malaysia

The University of Malaya and Universiti Teknologi MARA both award MB BS.Other public universities such as[[Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia], Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia,Universiti Malaysia Sabah and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak , however, follows the North American model and styles its degree as Doctor of Medicine. There is an increasing number of private medical schools in Malaysia, either offering full programs (with the whole course completed within Malaysia) or joint programs (where part of the course is completed at an overseas institution).The entrance into the medical faculty in the public universities is very competitive,and often causes controversy and tension among students and their respective parents nationwide.

Myanmar

All four medical schools in Myanmar award MB BS. The duration of the MB BS course in Myanmar is five years plus one year's work experience.

New Zealand

The two New Zealand medical schools, Auckland and Otago, style their degrees as MB ChB. The New Zealand MB ChB degrees take at least 6 years after commencing university study depending upon graduate or undergraduate entry.

Pakistan

All medical schools in Pakistan award MB BS, as per Pakistan Medical and Dental Council. The duration of the course for the degree is five years.In addision 1 year residancy is required at home hospital.

Scotland

All medical schools in Scotland (Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee) award MB ChB.

The University of St Andrews awarded MB ChB until the early 1970s, but since the incorporation of the clinical medical school in the new University of Dundee, the University of St Andrews now only awards a pre-clinical BSc or BSc (Hons), and students go elsewhere to finish their clinical training, usually to the University of Manchester where they are awarded an MB ChB after a further three years' study.

The Scottish Triple Conjoint Diploma of LRCPE, LRCSE, LRCPSG (earlier LRCPE, LRCSE, LRFPSG) is an old non-university qualifying examination in medicine and surgery awarded jointly by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, previously through a Conjoint Board and from 1994 through the United Examining Board. These qualifications were registrable with the GMC until 1999.

South Africa

The University of Pretoria, University of Cape Town, University of the Free State, University of Stellenbosch and MEDUNSA all award MB ChB, whereas the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of KwaZulu-Natal style their degrees as MB BCh. All South African medical degrees are awarded under the auspices of the Health Professions Council of South Africa and take at least 6 years to complete.

Singapore

The only medical school in Singapore, the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, confers MB BS.

Sri Lanka

MB BS is offered only by the government universities. The University of Colombo, University of Peredeniya, University of Kelaniya (Ragama), University of Ruhuna and University of Jaffna each has a medical faculty. The course lasts 5 years. Students are chosen on a merit basis from local advanced level examination from the biological sciences stream. Students have to complete 1 year of internship before they are awarded the medical council registration which is needed to practice medicine in Sri Lanka.

Wales

All medical schools in Wales award MB BCh.

West Indies

All constituent countries of the University of the West Indies (UWI) confer MB BS, due to the historical affiliation of UWI to the University of London.

Classification of degrees

The degrees of MB BS are rather difficult to classify. They can be received both after an undergraduate course, which lasts five or six years in addition to one year of practice as a Foundation House Officer (FHO1) - formerly Pre-registration house officer (PRHO), or after a graduate course which lasts 4 years in addition to one year of practice as a Foundation House Officer, having previously obtained an undergraduate degree of a good class. The degrees of MB BS are awarded after completion of the undergraduate course; however, one year of practice as a PRHO/FHO1 is completed under the supervision of the graduate's undergraduate medical school, and is required for further practice as a doctor in the UK.

The degrees differ from other undergraduate degrees in that they are professional qualifications which entitle bearers to a guaranteed position upon receipt. This is not the case with other undergraduate degrees, so whilst the MB ChB are undergraduate/graduate degrees, they are perhaps more accurately conceptualised as a so-called 'First Professional' degree.

It is a general/ordinary degree (not an honours degree), and as such one is not awarded 1st class, 2:1 etc. as one does for honours degrees. At some institutions (for example the University of Manchester) it is possible for the degrees to be awarded with Honours, i.e. MB ChB (Hons) etc., if the board of examiners recognises exceptional performance throughout the degree course. Very few of these are awarded.

More often, it is possible to study one subject for an extra year for an honours BSc, BMedSci, BMedBiol or similar: as with the Oxford and Cambridge BAs. At a few universities most medical students obtain an ordinary degree in science as well: when the University of Edinburgh had a six year course, the third year was followed by award of an ordinary BSc (Med Sci). In Australia, The University of Melbourne offers an Arts Degree (BA) to a medical student on the completion of two extra years of undergraduate study, and Monash University offers a Law degree (LLB). If the optional Law degree is undertaken, on completion of their degree the student may choose to do a one year internship at a hospital and become a doctor, or spend one year doing articles to practise thereafter as a lawyer.

An exception is at the University of Nottingham where all medical students on the five year course obtain a Bachelor of Medical Sciences (BMedSci) degree without an extra intercalated year.

Progression

As Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degrees are generally regarded by the awarding universities as undergraduate non-doctoral degrees, strictly speaking they do not in their own right entitle the holder to be called Doctor. Graduates of these degrees are only entitled to use the title Doctor upon registration as a medical professional with the relevant regulatory body in their country.

As a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, graduates are also eligible to sit various postgraduate examinations, which include examinations for membership and fellowship of professional institutions (such as Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons), postgraduate Masters degrees (such as a Master of Surgery or Master of the Art of Obstetrics) and a postgraduate doctorate in medicine (eg MD).

See also

• Bachelor's degree
• Homologation
• Medical school
• Medical education
• Doctor of Medicine - for more about the degrees of MD and DM
• Master of Surgery - for more about the degrees of ChM, MCh, MChir & MS.