Can an MBBS Graduate Be Called a Physician?

The Bachelor of Medicine, The Bachelor of Surgery is an integrated course offered as the first professional degree in the field of medicine in India, and many other countries following the traditions of the United Kingdom. From its history back to its roots, many MBBS graduates were not granted the title of being a ‘doctor’ and it was reserved for the highly educated. Also, since MBBS is a generalized program and not a specialized one, students applying to MBBS can often find themselves in a dizzy trying to figure what it is that they truly are. Since MBBS merges two different curriculums – one for a physician and one for a surgeon, it is important for each applicant to be aware of the bandwidth of each and the differences

Who is A Physician?

Any medical practitioner who professionally practices medicine, concerned with promoting, maintaining, or restoring health is known to be a physician. As the nomenclature of MBBS indicates the obvious – The first half ‘Bachelor of Medicine’ specifically caters to this niche. Physicians sometimes may also specialize in certain diseases and a certain part of the human body instead of treating patients as a general doctor. With becoming a professional physician, additional requirements outside the technical and structured courses of the curriculum involve medical ethics. There includes showing consideration, compassion, and benevolence to all kinds of patients that visit them during the course of their careers.

Who is A Surgeon?

As the name suggests, a surgeon is someone who conducts surgery. To define it more clearly, surgery is the act of treating disorders or injuries by incisions and manipulations using special surgical instruments. The knowledge and practice required by a surgeon are vastly different but a need once arose to teach the two together and thus MBBS was born. A surgeon can also specialize in one specific organ or area of the body, however, there are general surgeons as well. Conducting a surgery is often a much more risky and life-threatening process if done wrong, and can prolong continuously for many hours. Some surgeries can last as long as 24-48 hours without breaks and are often a result of emergency cases as well. The additional skill requirements for surgeons outside their curriculum often include good communication, handling pressure and stress, and prolonged focus.

THE FINAL CALL

An MBBS graduate has the opportunity to seek either path in their careers. Whether they are called ‘physicians’ or ‘surgeons’ solely relies on the path they choose to take after their undergraduate program. MBBS graduates in most of the modern world, including India, are titled as ‘doctors’, where the rest of the terminology such as a ‘physician’ is based on the specialization.

The specialization of an MBBS graduate and the title they presume in their careers are based on either of the two decisions they make upon graduation. The graduate can either opt to directly practice as a doctor or they may aim for higher education. A Master’s in the field is often preferred, especially in the case of surgeons, but not mandated. When choosing either of the two career paths, the graduate at any given time can not practice both the professions. On the other hand, opting for a post-graduate, the applicants must choose one final direction to what suits them best. Thus, the final call, of whether an MBBS graduate is called a ‘Physician’ or a ‘Surgeon’ in unto the student himself/herself.

SPECIALISATIONS

MD

After MBBS, in India and the UK, the specialization course or the Master’s degree in the field of medicine to become a physician is known as an MD (Doctor of Medicine). While the MBBS course in India is 5 years long, MD is only a 3-year long venture to pursue. Some countries such as the US and Canada consider MD to be the first professional course and follow a different amount of duration and curriculum.

MD specializations generally include paediatrics, gynecology, obstetrics, ophthalmology, dentistry, and the like, and the applicant eventually has to choose one specific field among the plethora of options available.

MS

MS stands for Master of Surgery and is sometimes abbreviated as M.Ch. (for its Latin counterpart Magister Chirurgiae). The fields that require surgical expertise and skills are generally included in MS, unlike MD which is largely non-surgical, but the two often have a few common overlapping operations. MS is often termed as ‘art blended with science’, where a lot of creativity, skill, and passion is required.

MS specializations generally include urology, cosmetic surgery, cardiac surgery, gynecology, and the like, and similar to MD, the applicant must eventually choose on the form of specialization among many.

The scope of being both a physician and a surgeon is equal. Whether one is a physician or a surgeon, an MBBS graduate, or a post-graduate, at the end of the day, it is the knowledge and the skill that is appreciated in the industry.

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