What is Medicine?
Generally the medical course consists of learning about the science of the human body in health and disease (the pre-clinical years) and then a period of time applying that knowledge when meeting patients (the clinical years). It is a unique degree in that it combines the art of communicating effectively with patients with the science of the human body.
The standard five-year course can be 'topped up' to six years by doing an intercalated BSc (see here).
Some medical schools incorporate this into the medical degree, so it is automatically six-years. If you are a graduate you may be eligible to apply to a four-year graduate entry programme. If you do not have the correct qualifications then you can do a six-year course, which includes a foundation year tagged onto the first five-years.
All medical degrees in the United Kingdom are undergraduate degrees. The degrees are abbreviated to MB BS, MB ChB, MB, BM BS, MB BChir etc. All of these are the same, so don't get hung up on qualifications!
