can u elaborate on that? i've heard that several times but not the explanation behind it. because as an intern you're expected to know everything about all the patients and you're always getting asked by the upper years this and that about the patients so you have to be on top of it all. plus the constant paging. not to mention all the floor/scut work you have to do because you are the intern that the seniors don't have to do.
Good Chiefs know everything that the intern knows. Just because the resident asks the intern something doesn't mean he doesn't already know the answer; this is ONE reason why you never lie.
Secondly, work =/= responsibility. Yes, as an intern you are responsible for getting the work done, but if it doesn't get done, or you make a mistake, you are given leeway as the intern.
It is the Chief's responsibility to make sure that the intern is doing his work, doing it correctly, learning, etc. If something goes wrong, it is the Chief's fault, not the intern - fair or not, that's how its perceived.
The Chief is responsible for running the service, placating all the attendings and operating while still making sure that everything that is supposed to be done for the patients is done. That' why we get so upset with interns who aren't doing the work - WE get yelled at by the attendings.
Interns are almost never named in surgical lawsuits, despite the fact that floor care is almost always up to them. Chiefs and senior residents are responsible for their oversight and are therefore, usually seen as being more responsible and of course, being closer to having an income against which a suit can be brought.
Believe me, having a lazy, stupid or worthless intern makes the Chief resident's job much much harder, as all the problems will come down on YOU to fix. Maybe in your experience the senior residents were just sitting around eating bon bons while the interns were running around doing all the work but in my program, senior residents with that princess attitude were knocked down a peg. It was a team effort and I didn't give a damn if you were a 4th year resident, medical student or an intern when someone's drain needed to come out...SOMEONE did it. Even me.
Is the intern's life hard? Absolutely. I am not minimizing that but many students and junior residents also misunderstand the level of responsibility, ownership of the patient and general anxiety prevalent amongst senior level residents and Chiefs.
probably. There are numerous examples of successful senior surgeons with significant dysfunction. You will ultimately do as you choose. If you can get a residency in which the traits you espouse and/or value are supported, by all means go for it. After all, no matter what we say, residency success is in many ways dependent on a "good match" or "good fit". 
