In general, call at WashU averages 1x/week. Avg 2 weekend days per month, usually on different weekends. General OR avg probably 60-65hrs/wk. Relationship with the surgery department on a day to day basis is fine. For the most part, very pleasant mid-west surgeons and surgical residents.
Caseload is a highlight of the program, as Hockeyguy mentioned. I too have had calls with multiple transplants. It's hard to imagine a better overall caseload, but I assume most large academic centers should offer something similar so I'll leave it at that. I would echo Hockeyguy's overall perception of the program, but I don't feel like we're worked that hard at all. Everything is relative I guess. We're probably middle of the road in terms of workload, but there are a lot of us who'll stay to finish a difficult case rather than dump it on our relief. And a few of the craziest moments I've had have been in otherwise boring cases. Balance is important to all of us, but I urge you not to sacrifice your training or become that guy that's watching the clock every day. No one wants to be co-residents or eventually partners with that person.
As Hockeyguy predicted, Dr. Wall has become chair at UMinnesota. Another faculty member, Dr. Crowder, has accepted the chair position at UWashington (So that's chairs at Emory, UMinn, UWash in the last 3 yrs -- makes for some nice connections). A few more have similar potential. So it's a successful academic environment which does color our daily practice (in the sense that there is plenty of daily discussion/journal clubs on recent literature) but I wouldn't call it stuffy, as everyone is very friendly and research isn't pushed on you if you're not into it.
Glad you liked the program when you visited. You'd get great training in a fun city.
