The Bachelor of Medical Science research degree as a start for clinician-scientists.

A retrospective case-control study of Bachelor of Medical Science (BMedSc) graduates of the University of Queensland found that 20% were in full-time academic or research positions compared with only 0.9% in controls (P less than 0.001). A larger percentage graduated from the medical course with honours degrees compared with controls (47.8% vs 10.8%, P less than 0.001). At the time of the survey, a higher percentage held higher research degrees (17.3% vs 3.0%) or were working towards such degrees (12.0% vs 0%). As a group they had published more articles in refereed scientific journals and more books or chapters in books (P less than 0.001). The majority of BMedSc graduates (75%) stated that the programme was 'a worthwhile endeavour' and 73.8% said they would do the degree again if given the time over as a medical student. These results indicate that the BMedSc programme, if properly promoted, can be a valuable means of reversing the decline in clinician-scientist manpower.