|
Surgeons Who Play Video Games May Be Better at Surgery |
|
Posted by chshkt
|
Surgeons Who Play Video Games May Be Better at Surgery
CHICAGO, IL -- February 20, 2007 -- In
a study involving 12 surgeons and 21 surgical residents, video game
skill was correlated with laparoscopic surgery skill as assessed during
a simulated surgery skills course, according to a report in the
February issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives
journals.
James C. Rosser Jr., MD, of Beth Israel
Medical Center, New York, and colleagues asked 33 surgeons (21
residents and 12 attending physicians) about their video game–playing
habits, then assessed their performance at the Rosser Top Gun
Laparoscopic Skills and Suturing Program, a one-and-a-half day course
that scores surgeons on time and errors during simulated surgery
drills. During the study, conducted from May through August, 2002, the
surgeons also played three video games for 25 minutes while the
researchers assessed their gaming skills.
Of the surgeons who participated in the
study, 15 reported never playing video games, nine reported playing
zero to three hours per week, and nine reported playing more than three
hours per week at the height of their video game playing.
"Surgeons who had played video games in
the past for more than three hours per week made 37% fewer errors [in
the Top Gun course], were 27% faster and scored 42% better overall than
surgeons who never played video games. Current video game players made
32% fewer errors, were 24% faster and scored 26% better overall than
their non-player colleagues," the authors write.
Those in the top one-third of video gaming
skill made 47% fewer errors, performed 39% faster and scored 41% better
on the overall Top Gun score than those in the bottom one-third.
"Training curricula that include video
games may help thin the technical interface between surgeons and
screen-mediated applications, such as laparoscopic surgery," the
authors conclude. "Video games may be a practical teaching tool to help
train surgeons."
SOURCE: Archives of Surgery
http://www.docguide.com
See also:
|
