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MD: the new MB BS?

Ross L Roberts-Thomson, Sam D Kirchner and Christopher X J Wong
Med J Aust 2010; 193 (11): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb04096.x
Published online: 6 December 2010

Having two types of medical degree in Australia runs the risk of creating a two-tiered system

Currently, all courses in Australia that qualify a graduate to undertake a medical internship are either a Bachelor of Medicine (BMed) or a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB BS). A bachelor degree is, by definition, an undergraduate degree, irrespective of whether the program has a graduate-entry pathway. While most medical professionals currently in practice gained their qualification by completing a 6-year MB BS, in recent times an increasing number of 5- and 4-year (graduate-entry) programs have been introduced.1 More recently, the University of Melbourne and others with graduate-entry programs have been planning to change their medical degrees to masters-level degrees that will be rebadged “Doctor of Medicine” (MD). This change will have significant implications for both medical education and the medical profession in Australia.


  • Australian Medical Students’ Association, Canberra, ACT.


Correspondence: ross.rt@gmail.com

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