How to become a successful brain doctor?

Hello agian Keerthana,

I do not completely understand (as in do you want to be a Psychiatrist, Neurosurgeon, or Neurologist) what you are asking so I will answer without much detail and once we can narrow down what you want to study, I can answer a little bit better, I hope that is okay. If you are wanting to become a Physician (MD), then you must go to medical school. In order to do that (this is a simplified explanation of the path, so do not think this includes all that you must do, this is a small sample to give you an idea):
1. Graduate High School (As I know you already understand)
2. Attend a four year university (what I mean is, not a community college or junior college, at least not taking a majority of your credits there)
3. In that university, obtain a bachelor's degree. The misconception among medical school candidates is that, "you MUST get some type of a biology or biochemistry degree in undergraduate work." That is not the case, if you look up any medical school (and I am speaking about the US since that is where I am from and what I understand), they will mention classes that you MUST take in order to be able to apply to medical school. These classes are called, "prerequisites." These classes include, but are not limited to, Biology I, Microbiology, Physics I, Physics II, Anatomy, Physiology, Organic Chemistry I, Organic Chemistry II, Biochemistry I, and many others. You will see, and you can look this up on the school websites, that you are not required to have a specific degree, but you must take specific classes. I hope this makes sense, please let me know if it does not.
4. When you graduate with your Bachelor's degree (or when you are about to graduate), you begin applying to medical schools. This is an EXTREMELY lengthy and expensive process. The average number of schools applicants apply to is around 7 or 8.
5. Prior to any of those schools even considering you for admission, you must take the MCAT. This stands for Medical College Admission Test, and this is REQUIRED to apply to medical school. This is a test that basically tests to see how well you understand your undergraduate studies, how well you learn information, and how well you take standardized tests. This is a VERY VERY difficult test and takes several hours to complete and is on a time limit.
6. Once all of these things are complete, you will get a reply from medical schools on whether you are denied admission, or if they are interested. If they are interested, many schools ask that you submit something called a Secondary Application. Medical schools are extremely competitive and they get many many qualified applicants. This secondary application process helps them narrow down the pool of applicants even further.

1. After all that, if they are STILL interested in you, they will extend an interview offer to you. That is another process I won't get into. If they STILL like you after the interview, you may be offered admission to their program.

Once you are in the program, you attend for four years and obtain your medical degree. In order to be allowed to practice in the US, once you obtain your medical degree, you must perform something called a Residency Program. These usually last 4 years and require many many hours per week (no more than 100 per week if I am understanding correctly) under the close instruction of experienced Physicians. You are allowed to treat patients under their supervision and scrutiny. Once this four year residency is up, then you may take the state licensing exam. Once you pass that, congratulations, you're a doctor!

If you wish to be a Psychiatrist (A physician that specializes in mental illness and some neurological issues as well), you do the same thing I listed above with an ADDITIONAL few years of study to specialize in Psychiatry. The same thing is true of a neurologist (studies brain science and anatomy and nerves throughout the body).

If you wish to be a Psychologist and strictly study brain and behavior, the path is much different (There is a difference between a Psychiatrist and a Psychologist). I hope I answered more questions than I created. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. The path is a very very difficult one, but well rewarded!

Again, this is just how you do it in the US. If you attend school in India (As I think I saw a previous post mentioned this, forgive me if I am wrong) then you may get a medical degree in India and receive additional training in the US.