I'm a chief resident at a regionally competitive state university program (hidden jewel with the word getting out). We have 8 spots, received over 400 applicants, interviewed 75 with average scores in the high 220's. We did not interview any IMG's this year. I think IMG's will have a really hard time getting in this year and in years to come. The competitiveness of anesthesia will continue to increase for 4 or 5 more years, it's hard to say. Over the course of my 4 year residency I have seen this field become saturated in most of the desirable cities in the US and starting salaries in these cities decline. Cash cow ambulatory surgery centers are struggling due to the economy with less and less elective surgeries due to layoffs, fear of being fired, lost or reduced benefits etc....This will only get dramatically worse over the next couple of years and in-turn reduce anesthesia salaries and encourage the use of midlevel anesthesia providers (AA,CRNA's). Layoffs are exchanging private insurance for medicaid or uninsured and destroying payer mixes in many areas. Candy plastic surgery center gigs are drying up due to declining demand for expensive cosmetic surgery. Fewer anesthesiologists are retiring because the recently lost their entire nest egg when the market crashed. The word will spread of deteriorating salaries and job saturation to the medical schools in a few years and application numbers will fall. If your a pre-med or MS 1, I think you will have an easier time getting in but may change your mind for a better job outlook in some other field. For those of you who are doing it for the pure love of anesthesia, none of this should matter.
