gds is really what you want, tynata. remember that any transconductance (g term) is an inverse resistance, so 1/gds => Rout
here's how it fits together.
Rout = 1/LAMBDA*Ids where LAMBDA = 1/Va
so you could write Rout = Va/Id
and assuming gds=Id/Va just invert to show
Rout = 1/gds
partial derivative that humungous mentioned is true, but you can just remember this as being small signal output resistance. set up a bias point, and then any small deviation around this point sees an output resistance of 1/gds. Sounds good?