Honestly, I was pointed in the direction of anesthesia because the lifestyle is great for someone who wants to maintain a personal life outside of medicine. I would like to start a family one day and I really didn't see how I would really be able to dedicate myself to a family AND medicine in some of the other specialties. So, in my third year of med school I tried a rotation to see if I really did like it. I already had decided that I wanted to do some kind of specialty..vs. primary care, so it was just a matter of which one. I came to love anesthesia because it does offer a lot of procedures such as intubations, arterial lines, central lines, epidurals, spinals, regional blocks, etc. The possibilities are endless.
Like Achilles, I did notice the majority of the anesthesiologists were extremely happy with their field unlike their colleague surgeons who seemed to hate their lives or were very bitter. I suppose a daily schedule for most is getting to the OR early around 6ish if your cases start at 7-7:30 to set up the room and see your patient in pre-op holding area. The rest of the day usually depends on what kind of cases you are assigned to doing. You could spend hours in a long transplant case or have many short ortho cases in same day surgery. The pace varies but you can usually find a group that caters to what pace you like to keep. Personally, I liked that each day is different but you still have an idea of what your schedule will be. No surprise admissions unless you are on call of course. You know when you can leave and no one should call you once you do. Definitely a plus to me. I also like that you can focus all your attention on one patient at a time...unlike medicine where you might have 20 patients on your service racking your brain.
Patient interactions are brief, but that doesn't make them any less important. I have seen docs who really enjoy talking with patients make those 10-15 minutes very meaningful just by their personal skills and congeniality. Those who don't like dealing with people just breeze through the encounter. Also, don't forget that many times your patient may be awake during the procedure e.g. during C-sections with only spinal anesthesia, or for epidurals or regional blocks. Again, there exists a lot of variety.
Aside from this forum, I don't know many other resources to read about the specialty. The best thing is to probably just shadow someone in your free time until you have a chance to do a rotation.
I hope that helps you. Good luck whatever you decide to do!
