reddog;
I can certainly say, I wouldn't want to do it over again. (I was fun, but a lot of hard work.) I don't think I'd do anything differently in retrospect. I studied hard but enjoyed myself as well. Be sure to not study all the time, although you'll be compelled to. Also, realize that it's gonna be impossible to master all the material. Unlike undergrad where most premeds that got into med school were at the top of the class, now the competition has grown exponentially. Don't get frustrated. i.e: med school isn't a competition, it's an opportunity to learn a skill that you'll use the rest of your life (learn what you can, who cares what everyone else is doing).
Take time to enjoy yourself (did I say that already?). Don't put everything else on hold while you learn medicine. This isn't just a four year endevor, but a lifetime, so try to figure out how to get a good balance in your life. (i.e.: family, friends, studying, fun...) Make lists & plan ahead.
In retrospect, I think I was alittle unprepared for residency,however. I knew enough medicine to do a good job, but I wasn't prepared for what I'd gotten myself into. When I started in July, after being up for 48 hours for the ninth time in one month and having no day off since June, I began to wonder how I got myself into this mess. I started to wish I'd settled for the easy 9-5 research job I had before med school, and thought how great the nurses had it after seeing the same nurse start and finish two shifts before I finished one.
Guess my point is that although nothing's gonna change your mind about going to medical school (nothing would've changed my mind) realize that medical school leads to residency which leads to being an attending, which means it never lets up... There's prob'ly not any other profession as mentally demanding, as time constraining, or as emotionally gratifying as medicine. It's a blast, but it's tons of work...not just through medical school, but for a lifetime.
