General surgery resdiency is brutal, even in the best of circumstances. I'm in a program that does a very good job of sticking to the 80 hour work week, and it's sucking the life out of me (so much so that I'm considering quitting surgery and perhaps getting out of medicine altogether). I've slowly evolved into someone who hates getting up and going to work every day, who can't wait for the day to be over (a long wait when you are working 14-15 hours a day!). The other side of the curtain is looking more and more appealing.
After a while, surgery just isn't that cool any more...it's acutally just another job. Certainly there are still cases I like doing, but there are many more I don't like to do. Nothing is more painful than laparoscopy. Vascular is tedious.
Plus the game that must be played to get paid are absolutely ridiculous. This is true of medicine across the board. You could never run any other business this way. The worst part is you don't start finding out about this aspect until it's too late, since it's not taught in med school or residency. I have been seeking out information on the payment game, and it gets me more discouraged. (Just one example I recently learned from a breast surgeon....A mediport pays more than a mastectomy!!!!)
Take the time to investigate surgical subspecialties. The pay per unit work effort is a lot better than that for general surgery.
