Doctor of Medicine is a
doctoral degree for
physicians granted by
medical schools. It is a
professional doctorate /
first professional degree in some countries, including the
United States and
Canada, although training is entered after obtaining from 90 to 120 credit hours of university level work and in most cases after having obtained a Bachelors Degree. In other countries, such as
India, the
United Kingdom,
Germany, and
Sri Lanka, the MD is an
advanced academic research degree more similar to a
PhD. In India, Britain, Ireland, and many
Commonwealth nations, the medical degree is instead the
MBBS i.e.,
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery and is equivalent to the MD and
DO degrees in the U.S. system.