My experiences with CRS in residency mirror that of
@southernIM . That was a service with long, unpredictable hours and unpredictable takebacks. Every surgical field has some unpredictability, because patients have complications, other surgeons run "late" and delay your room, etc. but CRS really seemed to have more than their fair share.
I do general surgery. Honestly, the overall negativity of many here regarding GS makes me hesitant to post on these threads. I was miserable on most of my med school rotations, and found surgery was the rotation where being there from 5a-7p was less painful than doing 6 hour days in other fields. I did not think when I went into med school that I would end up a surgeon, and was relieved when I actually found something I liked. Residency was a marathon; if I didn't like surgery, I wouldn't have gotten through. In five years at my program, we lost 5 categorical residents total (about 12% attrition) if you include a couple people who went right from PGY 4 into plastics fellowship rather than completing chief year (they converted the plastics fellowship to an integrated program which caused the residents hoping to stay there for plastics to slide over). Life after residency is better, obviously, but it's not 9-5 with no weekends. It's rare for me to be up all night, but it happens from time to time. I have some weeks where I'm home by 5-6 everyday, and some weeks that are more unpredictable, depending on the patients' issues. Most days, I probably average getting home between 6 and 7, which includes finishing all my charts and seeing all new consults. Fridays I am rarely working later than 5 unless I'm busy on call or still operating. I usually round at 7:30 am or later, depending on how many patients I have to see and my OR schedule. It is very important to ask the right questions when applying for jobs so you know exactly what you are getting into. The more people who are in your call pool, the more predictable your life is, as is knowing exactly what types of cases you would be getting while on call, and how many (and whose) patients you are covering. (Not taking trauma or vascular call helps immensely). Most things that come in on-call do not require immediate surgery; appys, choles, etc. can wait a few hours and my partners will work scheduling these cases around family time/kid activities. SBOs usually resolve without surgery. Consults for new malignancies and other stuff found on inpatients after work up or incidentally are generally not emergent and can be worked into my OR schedule as appropriate. For admissions late at night, I can usually wait until morning to do an H&P or a consult for a routine problem, but will go in if there's something concerning that makes me want to lay eyes on the patient. At an academic center, there's usually someone in house all the time and residents are at the mercy of the attending as to timing of surgery. Life is different when you are not the resident/student who has to stick around longer just to cover a case, and when you can take call from home and just come in when needed. But it still means fielding nursing and patient phone calls after hours, and being within a certain proximity to the hospital, which can be painful despite not having to go in. My call is busier than ENT and urology, equally busy here volume-wise as the general orthos (although I am more likely to get something that "can't wait until morning"), and better than OB/Gyn (in-house call). I should add that most high volume, large hospitals in my area are converting over to the acute-care surgery model with a surgeon just on call for traumas and emergencies without an elective schedule or busy clinic to work around, which has allowed the other surgeons to have more predictable schedules. Surgeons are also getting paid to take ER call in certain areas, which is a trend that will probably continue to spread. In other words, GS is changing in response to "call fatigue"and shortages of surgeons willing to take call.
The VAST majority of GS's are in community practice, where there is little tolerance for malignant personalities since you will quickly see your referrals dry up (this is also true for other specialists). In residency, my attendings were quick to point out to the residents that in PP, being affable, respectful and approachable is the key to successful practice. Although I know it happens, I personally have never witnessed or known a general surgeon to throw something in the OR; ortho and a certain CT surgeon were known to do this where I trained. A surgeon (regardless of specialty) who did that where I currently work would very quickly find hospital staff and nurses suggesting other surgeons when asked for recommendations or when working with other physicians, which will greatly impede one's ability to build a practice, and that is only assuming the inevitable HR complaint resulted in no suspension of privileges.
Sorry for the long post, but I hope that helps answer the OPs question (and maybe other related thread questions).
. That's a sprung trap if I ever heard one. 
