Everyone at Oxbridge does an interpolated degree. Usually in UK medical courses last 5 years and result in a bachelor of medicine and surgery degree. However a proportion do another year and from this get another degree. Often this is a related degree such as b med sci. Oxbridge folk all do 6 years. In Oxford the ‘extra’ bit is a ba in physiological sciences. Cambridge allow you freedom to do pretty much anything; languages, art history etc. At the end of the first 3 pre clinical years doing basic scientific background and the extra bit above you the need to reapply for the next 3 years in clinical school. The majority stay put, some switch from Oxford to Cambridge and vice versa. Quite a lot move elsewhere , especially to London schools.
The nice thing about the first 3 years is that though teaching is university wide for most things you also have the benefit of being attached to a college. This is where your identity and social life resides so you spend a lot of time with folk doing anything but medicine.
You also get attached to a college tutor who teaches you a bit and nurtures you a lot. When my tutor died after 40 years or so at Oxford, a dinner in his honour saw folk negotiate on call rotas and in quite a few a few case long distance travel from overseas to ensure over two thirds of his students attended.
Rod Lawson, PhD from Edinburgh, UK (1997)
Source:
Everyone at Oxbridge does an interpolated degree. Usually in UK medical courses last 5 years and result in a bachelor of medicine and surgery degree. However a proportion do another year and from this get another degree. Often this is a related degree such as b med sci. Oxbridge folk all do 6 years. In Oxford the ‘extra’ bit is a ba in physiological sciences. Cambridge allow you freedom to do pretty much anything; languages, art history etc. At the end of the first 3 pre clinical years doing basic scientific background and the extra bit above you the need to reapply for the next 3 years in clinical school. The majority stay put, some switch from Oxford to Cambridge and vice versa. Quite a lot move elsewhere , especially to London schools.