MD and Phd are both higher degrees. MD stands for Doctor of Medicine, and Phd stands for Doctor of philosophy.
The first difference that can be mentioned of the two, is that MD is associated with treating patients, and Phd is related to a doctor’s degree in other fields.
While MD pertains to a higher degree in medicine, a Phd can be obtained in various fields, like arts and the sciences. A person that has a MD degree can prescribe medicines, where as a person with a Phd cannot prescribe medicines. Phd is completely research oriented.
When discussing the origin of MD and Phd, the former was launched first. The origin of Doctor of Medicine is traced to the ninth century, when it was introduced in the medieval Arabic universities. The Doctor of Philosophy is known to have originated in the Middle Ages, in the European universities.
There is also the difference of time when studying for the degrees. While a person gets a MD after about four years, a person will only get a Phd in four to seven years. Getting a Phd also depends on the submission of the thesis paper.
Doctor of Philosophy comes from Latin philosophi?? doctor, which means ‘teacher of philosophy’. The Doctor of Medicine also comes from Latin, and means ‘teacher of medicine’.
A person gets a MD degree after two years of course work, and two years of rotational work, in some hospital or clinic. On the other hand, a person gets a Phd after he submits his thesis paper. The thesis is examined by a group of experts, and the person may also be called to defend his work.
Read more: Difference Between MD and Phd | Difference Between | MD vs Phd http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-md-and-phd/#ixzz37AJ5usjc
I was filling out a government form that included a section about 'highest level of education achieved' which listed levels of education starting with elementary school and ending with a doctoral degree.
Anyway, I was surprised to that the MD was not listed at the same rank of 'doctoral degree' and was instead listed after 'masters' degrees along with the JD (lawyers), OD (optometrists), M.Div (ministers) and some other degrees... some of which were 'M' (masters) and others which were 'D.'
I always thought that the 'D' in MD meant that it was a 'doctorate' degree, but this questionnaire seemed to rank the MD as lower than a doctorate degree. So my question is, is the MD a doctorate degree and/or is someone with an MD considered as having a 'doctorate'?
答复：
The short answer to your question is that the MD is not a doctorate degree nor is it equivalent to a PhD. That said, it's still certainly a prestigious degree and, at least in the US, it is customary to still address someone with an MD as Dr. (although the history behind that is somewhat interesting). And, of course, some MDs do go on to complete the additional work required to also receive a PhD (eg MD/PhD).
The reason that the MD and those other degrees were listed as lower than a doctorate in the questionnaire in terms of level of education achieved is that these degrees do not meet the traditional definition of what is required to receive a 'doctorate' level degree. In particular, where they fall short is the requirement for the generation and defense of the production of 'new' knowledge - generally in the form of an extensive research project, thesis and defense of the thesis.
The MD, JD and other similar degrees are classified as 'first-professional' degrees. These degrees generally contain 'masters degree' level coursework along with extensive 'apprenticeship' style training of the trade in question (medicine, law, religion, etc.). Most of these professional schools used to issue masters degrees to their graduates, although some schools eventually started issuing specialized doctoral degrees even though they didn't actually complete the requirements necessary for a doctorate. This practice is generally limited to the US.
As a result, the 'first-professional' degree classification was created in the US to identify those degrees that represented highly advanced training in a particular subject beyond what is normally required for a masters degree but falling short of what is required to be awarded a doctorate.
The US Department of Education states (on a website defining the different classes of degrees one can obtain in the US education system):
"Holders of first-professional degrees are considered to have an entry-level qualification and may undertake graduate study in these professional fields following the award of the first-professional degree. Several of these degrees use the term “doctor” in the title, but these degrees do not contain an independent research component or require a dissertation (thesis) and should not be confused with PhD degrees"
All that said, it shouldn't take anything away from the MD, JD, or other first-professional degrees. They are all very prestigious and require several years of hard study to obtain, but they are not equivalent to a PhD.
bobby41 发表评论于
Retinal Medicine & Surgery Salaries in the USA
As I write this, there are possibly only about 1500 to 1600 practicing retinal surgeons in the United states in an overall pool of over 830,000 practicing MDs - that makes them fairly exclusive, and exclusivity in the health arena means huge dollars in income.
You will agree when I say high dollars, when you know that average yearly incomes these guys make hovers around $500,000 to $600,000 and can climb upto $800,000 a year on the higher end.
As I went through various online physician salary survey sites, the minimum for a Retinal Physician was about 250,000$, which climbs up quickly with incentives and production bonuses, pulling from the competition with higher offers and so on...
A 2010 Survey by Allied physicians quotes a minimum of $280,000 a year, an average of $469,000 a year and a Maximum of $716,000 a year for retinal physicians
Another survey on DrJobs.com quotes a minimum of $275,000 a year and a maximum of $711,000 a year.
