MBBS

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, or in Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae (abbreviated in various ways, viz. "BMBS", MB BChir, BM BCh, MB BCh, MB ChB, MBBS, BM, BMed, M.B.B.S. etc.), are the two first professional degrees awarded upon graduation from medical school in medicine and surgery by universities in various countries that follow the tradition of the United Kingdom. The naming suggests that they are two separate degrees; however, in practice, they are usually treated as one and awarded together. Usually, students graduated with a "Bachelor of Medicine" degree may also practice surgery, because it is equivalent to the "Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery" degree.

History and nature

The degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery are currently awarded in various forms in institutions in Australia, Bangladesh,Barbados, the Republic of China, Egypt, Fiji, Ghana, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Iraq, the Republic of Ireland, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya,Kuwait, Libya, Malawi, Philippines, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea,Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Zambia and Zimbabwe.^[1]

Historically, Bachelor of Medicine was also the primary medical degree conferred by institutions in the United States and Canada, such asUniversity of Pennsylvania, Harvard, University of Toronto, University of Maryland, and Columbia. Several early North American medical schools were (for the most part) founded by physicians and surgeons who had trained in England and Scotland. University medical education in England culminated with the Bachelor of Medicine qualification, and in Scotland the Doctor of Medicine, until from the mid-19th century when the public bodies that regulated medical practice at the time required practitioners in Scotland as well as England to hold the dual Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees. Throughout the 1800s, North American medical schools switched to the tradition of the Ancient universities of Scotland and began conferring Doctor of Medicine rather than Bachelor of Medicine, the first institution to make such a switch being King's College (now Columbia University) in New York.^[2]

In the countries that award bachelors' degrees in medicine, however, Doctor of Medicine denotes a holder of a higher doctorate and is reserved for medical practitioners who undertake research and submit a thesis in the field of medicine. Nevertheless, those holding Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery are usually referred to by the courtesy title of "Doctor" and use the prefix "Dr".

Despite their styling as two degrees, Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery are usually conferred together. At some institutions, such as Oxford and Cambridge, it was possible in the past to be awarded the two degrees in different years.

In many countries, the degrees are awarded after an undergraduate course lasting five or six years. In some cases, a graduate in another discipline may subsequently enter a special graduate-entry medical course, reduced in duration to account for relevant material covered or learning skills acquired during the first degree. In some cases the old first year courses (for six year degrees) in the basic sciences of physics, chemistry and biology have been abolished, and that standard has to be reached by means of school examinations before entry. However, in most countries a newly-graduated Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery must spend a specified period in internship before they can obtain full qualification as a medical practitioner.

People's Republic of China

In the People's Republic of China, medical graduates are traditionally awarded a Bachelor of Medicine (BMed) for a course of study lasting five or six years. However, as of 2010, 34 universities, including its frequently top-ranked medical schools, have been authorized by the government to award the MB BS degree as an equivalent to the BMed^[5]. These universities are:
Fudan University
Capital Medical University
Tianjin Medical University
Dalian Medical University
China Medical University
Jilin University
Harbin Medical University
Southeast University
Nanjing Medical University
Suzhou University
Zhejiang University
Wenzhou Medical University
Shandong University
Qingdao University
Zhengzhou University
Wuhan University
Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Central South University
Southern Medical University
Guangxi Medical University
Sichuan University
Chongqing Medical University
Xian Jiaotong University
Xinjiang Medical University
Nantong University
Fujian Medical University
Anhui Medical University
Hebei Medical University
Shantou University
Guangzhou Medical College
Ningxia Medical University
Nanchang University
Beihua University
Jiamusi University