As I have gone through medical school and scrubbed with many different surgeons, I have yet to see a negative interaction between surgeon and anesthesiologist. This is not to say that it doesn't happen. I have heard stories of surgeons who thought they were god jumping on an anesthesiologist. I think these are rare occurrences and the best situations (and usually occur with the surgeons who the entire OR staff will bend over backwards to make them happy) are somewhat of a team approach to the patient and situation. If you've ever been in a room during a CABG, you can watch the perfect orchestration of surgeon and anesthesiogist (my experience).
It really boils down to a ego thing. Surgeons tend to be the ones with egos (stereotype I know but I can do that because I'm doing surgery). It's their patient and whatever goes right (or wrong) with the operation will be on their head no matter who is at fault.
Now when it's a CNA behind the curtain, the surgeon tends to dominate the situation a little more and usually rightfully so.
On a more personal note, I'm going in to surgery and respect the job of an anesthesiologist. If my patient was comfortable through the operation, remembers nothing, and has few/no post-op anesthesia complications, the anesthesiologist has made me look like a caring surgeon. They can also make your job much easier.
I'm definitely not bitter that they make more money than surgeons. We all have a choice of what to do coming out of med school. If money were so important to me, I would have chosen something other than General Surgery (although I don't think poverty is in my future 😛 ).
Much of this is anecdotal and situations happen when the anesthesiologist is stuck in a subordinate role but hopefully this is rare.
i'll shut up now
