Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, or in Latin: Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae (abbreviated in many ways, e.g. MBBS, MBChB, MBBCh, MB BChir (Cantab), BM BCh (Oxon), BMBS), are the two first professional degrees in medicine and surgery awarded upon graduation from medical school by universities in countries that follow the tradition of the United Kingdom. The historical degree nomenclature suggests that they are two separate undergraduate degrees; however, in practice, they are usually treated as one and conferred together, and may also be awarded at graduate-level medical schools. In countries that follow the system in the United States, the equivalent medical degree is awarded as Doctor of Medicine (MD).

The degree is currently awarded in institutions in Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Botswana, China, Egypt, Fiji, Ghana, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, 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, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Historically, Bachelor of Medicine was also the primary medical degree conferred by institutions in the United States and Canada, such as University 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. In the mid-19th century the public bodies that regulated medical practice required practitioners in Scotland and England to hold the dual Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees. Throughout the 19th century, 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 was King's College (now Columbia University) in New York City.

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