Because a majority of the work in this field is scheduled cases, it lends itself to having a set schedule. However, programs deal with scheduling needs in different ways. In addition, there is a lot of variablility in the caseload and average difficulty in cases at various institutions. Plus, some instiutions have good ancillary services and physician extenders to help fill in the gaps while others don't. I interviewed at many programs last year. They were all different in terms of workload, call and hours. However, very few of the programs had to make any changes to comply with the new work hour guidelines. Even the hardest anesthesia programs I looked at didn't come close to the hours of many surgery, OB/Gyn, and even peds programs.
Anesthesia programs range from consistently having 12+ hour days to routinely getting out at 2-3PM when in the OR. I think it is possible to have a family. I met several senior female anesthesia residents who talked to me about this at interviews. The trend seemed to do it in the second half of residency, especially the senior year. Keep in mind that you essentially have 2 intern years where you're learning a lot, the first is your internship and the second is the first anesthesia year when there's a lot to learn.
