This is a difficult question. I am a 3rd year and was regretting medical school a lot in general during 2nd year. The thing is, you never know if you are going to like clinical medicine until you get there (in 3rd year rotations).
Once I finished Step 1 and Level 1, I was almost in the position of considering quitting. I talked it over with my wife etc. I did well and everything, but I was absolutely hating everything that my school was dishing out at me. There was no support or anything for board studying and tons of BS time-wasting. People here are saying 'medical school is difficult'. As a premed reading this, you are probably thinking of difficult in terms of 'academically difficult'. Thats really not the problem--the problem is the endless bureacracy, time-sucking, irrelevant lectures, hundreds of hours of OMM, unecessary pass/rail requirements on superfluous assignments, and a climate where curiosity and questions are not the foundation of learning--but rather rote memorization. Going from literally being the top graduating student at my undergrad program in my science department where questions, theoretical knowledge, and research were all the utmost importance to mostly rote memorizing every f***ing letter, number, and chart on dozens of powerpoints every week was EXTREMELY disheartening to me. I slowly learned not to ask why or really delve in deep as I had before. In a sense, medical school taught me how to acquire information fast and efficiently, but the speed and pace of material was extremely frustrating to me. Beyond that, the most difficult aspects were NOT the actual learning and the fact that the time in which we had to learn was already rushed, but that my school also chose to waste hundreds and hundreds of precious hours on pointless lectures and classes. Really, the medical education system is just very broken and incongruent between programs.
Fast forward to 3rd year, and I have never enjoyed a job more than what I am experiencing in clinical medicine via rotations! I've been happy on most days--even when getting pimped for 5 hours straight by a surgeon cussing and yelling at me. Medicine is SUCH an awesome field. The thing is--medical knowledge is not just book knowledge. It starts becoming an innate and intuitive way of thinking and it is such a cool process to be a part of. The layman can read about medical information online--but they will never have the gut instincts and context that we have the good fortune of learning in our training programs. As a physician, you are the brain behind all of medicine. You see it all and understand how all the organ systems, symptoms, and social aspects fit together. There is nothing like it--the knowledge we are getting from this experience is beyond value. Think about it--even when a millionaire gets sick, all of their net worth pales in comparison to the knowledge necessary for that person's health to presumably improve. Sure, they may have the money to find the best care, but that knowledge is beyond value when put into a situation of life/death/quality of life. The position this puts you in as a physician is extremely humbling. Rich and poor alike rely on you in a way that only you can assist them. For me, the beauty of it all is that critical thinking and questions all sort of come back once you hit rotations. Med schools treat you like a little computer automaton in the first 2 years then all of a sudden give you permission to think again.
So, when you as a premed read that 'medical school is hard'--its not in the way you are imagining it. You have to put up with a ton of BS, suspend your criticisms of flawed systems, never talk back, not ask questions, and just go along with the herd. Standing out has its consequences. The level of BS you endure is dependent on your school and curriculum. I have never really regretted anything in life, as there is no point in that. But reason and data show you should go to the best school possible, all things considered. DO has disadvantages and they are only getting worse in the long run. Do everything you can to get into an MD program in the states. I had the stats to apply to MD schools but didn't for personal reasons--it wasn't the most advisable decision and everyone on here told me not to do it. In the end, it's your life and no one can tell you what is best for you. Take control of whatever you can by gathering as much information/data to make an informed decision based on your individual needs and try to realize all of the possible consequences. We are all here to help answer any specific questions you have.
