Good things about Anesthesiology

From 2003:
http://medinfo.ufl.edu:8050/year3/rtprograms.pdf

ANESTHESIOLOGY
•  Duration of training: Clinical base year (intern year) plus 3 years of residency
training—Total = 4 years.
•  Fellowship training after completion of core program:  ACGME approved
fellowship training programs are available in Adult Critical Care Medicine (1
year), Pediatric Anesthesiology (1  year), and Pain Management (1 year).
Fellowships also are available in other  subspecialties of anesthesiology, but
these are not accredited or monitored by the ACGME. These include
Cardiovascular Anesthesiology (1-2 years), Neurosurgical Anesthesiology (1-2
years), Obstetric Anesthesiology (1-2  years), Regional Anesthesiology (1 year),
Ambulatory Anesthesia (1 year), and Research Fellowships (1-3 years.
•  Prospects for jobs after completion of training:  Job opportunities are
extraordinary at this time and not likely to change much in the next 10 years.
There is a severe shortage of anesthesiologists, both in private practice and 
academic settings. Jobs are available in all states, although the West Coast has 
fewer opportunities than elsewhere in the country. 
•  Range of compensation that might be expected for a graduating resident:
Academic anesthesiology: $100,000 to $140,000; Private Practice: $130,000 to
$200,000. There is considerable variability  according to region of the country.
Both types of positions offer significant increases after the first 1-2 years. Many
anesthesiology practices offer partnership tracks that result in partnership in <3
years.
•  Lifestyle after residency: Anesthesiology always has been associated with 
many different lifestyle opportunities. In both the private and academic settings, 
job expectations and thus lifestyle vary widely. Jobs are available in both arenas 
that are very intense, exciting and consume considerable time. In the private 
world, this translates to significantly larger incomes than quoted above. In the 
academic world, this translates to  great teaching opportunities, more complex 
cases, and opportunities for research. At the other end of the spectrum, there are 
jobs in ambulatory centers that involve (usually) low stress cases, no call, no 
night work, and no weekend work. Part-time jobs are widely available. 2
•  Possibility for job sharing after residency: Part-time and shared jobs are
available in most areas, including academic positions.
•  Compatibility of future practice with family activities: When the day is over 
and you go home, your job does not follow you there. As described under 
lifestyle, anesthesiology is an excellent  career for working mothers and fathers 
who want to spend significant time with their families or who have diverse outside 
interests and hobbies that consume considerable time. 
•  Relative competitiveness of residency selection: If you are in the top half of
your class and interview well, you should have no difficulty getting the residency
of your choice in the part of the country you would like. If you are in the lower half
of your class, it is still possible to get a good residency position, particularly if you
perform a rotation at that institution and do an outstanding job. For the first time
in recent years, however, American graduates applying to anesthesiology have
failed to obtain residency positions in the match.
♦ If you have additional questions, please contact either:
Michael E. Mahla, M.D., Professor and Program Director—Office: 265-0077; Pager: 800-379-
1408; Mobile: 246-7583.
Tammy Y. Euliano, Associate Professor and Assistant  Program Director—Office: 265-0077;