To become a brain surgeon, you need to first complete a four-year bachelor's degree. This qualifies you to take the MCAT, the entrance exam that determines your eligibility for medical school. There is no specific degree prescribed as a requirement for medical school. Therefore, your bachelor's degree may be in any subject of your choice. However, it makes sense to choose an undergraduate course that provides you a firm grounding in the physical and biological sciences. Studying these subjects is also helpful in preparing for the MCAT.
Programs that have a specific pre-med course of study help students gain a solid foundation in the sciences they need to study in medical school. A pre-med degree that emphasizes an understanding of biology, chemistry, human anatomy and physiology is very useful for two reasons. First, it helps you cover a majority of the topics that appear on the MCAT and enhances your chances of acing this test. Second, medical schools require you to specify the premed courses you have taken at the time of application and list your grades in these courses, indicating that there is a significance attached to this course of study.
Chemistry courses include a study of several aspects such as general chemistry, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry. The subject matter in these courses covers a wide range of topics such as structure and nomenclature of compounds, their reactivity, methods of analysis and the biological significance of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins and minerals. Besides explaining the theoretical aspects of these sciences, chemistry courses also include laboratory work.
Coursework in biology major emphasizes knowledge of the basic concepts in molecular and cell biology, microbiology, immunology, genetics, developmental biology and integrative biology. Students also gain an understanding of human anatomy and physiology. Like the chemistry major, biology coursework also emphasizes laboratory work to drive home the concepts covered in theory classes. Bioethics is another important area of study that biology pre-med courses include. This deals with the complex ethical issues that are created with advances in genetic and medical technology.