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MD and BMBS

  • 27-01-2011 04:36PM
    #1
    chanste
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 201 ✭✭


    As I understand it American med school students are aiming for their MD while over here we only get BMBS, a level 8 Bachelors degree. Does this bother anyone else?

    Normally I wouldn't give a rats ass about titles or anything else, but its part of the job that we will claim to patients that we are Drs. BMBS is not a doctorate so why is it the norm that physicians refer to themselves as doctors when in actual fact only some of them are on account of further education.

    When I qualify and the patient asks me am I the doctor, am I legally allowed to claim that I am, because I understood them to mean physician, because technically couldn't they have been looking for someone with the further education?


Comments

  • #2
    Sitric
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 234 ✭✭Sitric


    Hi,

    A lot of people mix this one up. An MD in the states is not a doctorate, it's a basic medical degree. it's entirely equivalent to an hons bachelors degree in Ireland or the UK.

    An MD degree in Ireland and the UK is a research degree like a PhD.

    Question for people, are they entirely the same degree in Ireland, ie. PhD = MD ?


  • #3
    Vorsprung
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,820 ✭✭✭Vorsprung


    As above

    MB in Ireland/MD in US - basic degree
    MD in Ireland - Masters in Medicine
    PhD - Doctorate


  • #4
    Sid_Justice
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,720 ✭✭✭Sid_Justice


    In US MD is a first professional degree not a doctorate. Only people who are 'real' doctors are people with PhDs.

    It's purely academic, BMBS is exactly the same as a MD in the US. I've been assured the differences never make any difference to anything.


  • #5
    chanste
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 201 ✭✭chanste


    Does anyone know where it comes from though that an entire profession became known as "doctors" if most won't have a doctorate?

    In fact I think a case could be made that the general population consider a physician to be a proper Doctor.


  • #6
    Sid_Justice
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,720 ✭✭✭Sid_Justice


    something with the term doctor being another word for teacher and all doctors having the obligation to pass the profession on by teaching it etc.

    i probably read that on wikipedia 10 years ago so don;t know if it's true.


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  • #7
    Bathsheba
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1 ✭Bathsheba


    As far as I know the "MD" in the US refers to the person being a Medical Doctor-to avoid confusion with PhDs who may be doing research etc. This is a graduate degree but more or less the same as an undergraduate medical degree here. Most of the "professions" in the US require a basic undergrad degree plus graduate school-law, accounting, medicine etc
    I did an elective in NY a few years ago and my intern was a DO or Doctor of Osteopathy. They practice as MDs do but have a slightly different degree with focus on Osteopathic Medicine-I never could figure out the difference to be honest but DOs are able to apply through matching to most of the the same residency schemes as MDs.


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