Right, plus, I actually chose my program specifically because it WASN'T cush. I was lazy in college, lazy in med school, and am being as lazy as possible during my fairly cushy intern year, but I definitely do not want a cush anesthesia program. I want to have seen and done everything before I'm forced to go out on my own, with no backup during potentially complex emergency situations (very scary).
That being said, yes, all anesthesia programs are on the cush side compared to most other specialties; bigger programs tend to have less call (e.g. st vincents in manhattan has only 5 residents per year, call is therefore Q5 which is very often by anesthesia standards). The cushiest I found was Jefferson in Philly; I left at 1:00 after my interviews only to find half the residents walking out the door with me. Until 2 years ago (new program director) they averaged Q15-30 call.
I would by all means pick the cushiest trans/prelim program available. For anesthesia residency, though, a tougher one probably gives you better preparation (assuming they give you tough cases and don't stick you with a bunch of lap choles and appys as a CA-3)
