The Commonwealth Doctor of Medicine: A Degree of Uncertainty

The degree of doctor of medicine (MD) is awarded by many universities in the British Commonwealth as a senior, postgraduate, research thesis-based degree. Some of its features are that it is limited to medical graduates of the same university, but that the research on which the thesis is based need not be conducted at the university awarding the degree and that there is no requirement for formal supervision of candidates. These characteristics, and its close similarities with the master of surgery (ChM) degree, may be responsible for the confusion that exists about its quality and status in relation to the doctorate of philosophy (PhD) and the 'higher' doctorates like doctor of science (DSc). There is also uncertainty about its role in the training and selection of clinical consultants and physician scientists.