Gamers make better surgeons, study says

According to a new study published in the Archives of Surgery, surgeons who put in their downtime playing video games proved to have considerably higher surgical skills than their non-gamer co-workers, in particular when it came to laparoscopic surgery, which involves manipulating instruments while staring at a monitor. While the study is far from authoritative, with only 33 surgeons participating in it, it nonetheless found that those who played video games for at least three hours a week performed 27 percent faster, made 37 percent fewer errors, and scored 42 percent better in surgical tests than those who had not played video games. The correlation between video games and surgical skills was apparently so high that it proved to be an even greater indicator of performance than either the length of an individual's surgical training or their prior experience with laporscopic surgery. No word if those that snuck in some extra practice in Trauma Center on their DS had an even bigger advantage.

[Lowest ranked! @ Feb 20th 2007 3:03AM]

i bet if they had another study about which game console led to best surgeon skills, the amazing ps3 owners would the best surgeons skills .

[waffles @ Feb 20th 2007 3:48AM]

hmm, i would figure the wii players to.

[waffles @ Feb 20th 2007 3:48AM]

hmm, i would figure the wii players to.

[sekka @ Feb 20th 2007 3:52AM]

Love this GAME!!

[Rod @ Feb 20th 2007 3:54AM]

Considering the rigorous 100+ hrs/wk schedule surgery interns go through, I wonder how in the hell some of these surgeons find the time to play video games.
Well, as always, correlation does not mean causation.
While these findings are interesting, it is far from proving anything.
I guess if you're an aspiring surgeon who is already in med school, you might improve your dexterity by playing more games, although wood workshops, knitting and such might be more beneficial in that regard.

[farukates @ Feb 20th 2007 4:04AM]

I'm not surprised by this: there have been several of such studies over the past 5+ years, all with the same result. This particular study may not be authorative, but multiple of the same studies taken in different countries (and some of them with far more test subjects) all with the exact same result amount to a pretty authorative conclusion: videogames improve a surgeon's hand-eye co-ordination and motor skills.

So much so that if I ever need surgery, I'm asking for a surgeon who plays videogames, plain and simple.

[Jeff @ Feb 20th 2007 10:01AM]

BRILLIANT accompanying image! Nicely done. Very, very nicely done. =)

[Tim UF @ Feb 20th 2007 10:46AM]

Its because we got to play with that ultimate motion sensing technology:
THE NINTENDO POWER GLOVE!

and i miss my copy of Dr Mario.

[Imran @ Feb 20th 2007 11:02AM]

This is old news (circa 2004)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4685909/

[oliver @ Feb 20th 2007 11:32AM]

First off, this article relates to laparoscopic surgery, where a surgeon puts instruments through small incisions into the abdominal cavity. One instrument has a camera on it and displays the image on a video monitor while the other instruments have graspers, staplers, suture devices, etc on the tips. The instruments are manipulated outside the patient like so many joysticks while the surgeon watches the monitor to see what's going on inside the patient. Aside from specific surgical simulators, video gaming is the most similar activity to this. Knitting, woodworking model building would not work. Gaming is very efficient at improving hand-video screen-eye coordination (which is quite different from hand-eye coordination).

Second, I am wondering how many similar articles are needed until I can a) tax deduct my gaming console/theater room/projector, and b) get continuing medical education credit for all my gaming time.

ODO

[badnegro @ Feb 20th 2007 11:35AM]

Ha haaaa!!!! I TOLD my mom I could amount to something even though I "waste all my time" playing video games.

Oh wait... I work at Burger King.

Ding! Fries are done!

http://www.americanangst.com/dingfries.html

[jason.lo @ Feb 20th 2007 12:08PM]

Same thing can probably be said of musician surgeons? Playing the piano, violin...etc gotta help the musician surgeons dexterity...etc.

Now when ever I play games I can justify it by thinking I'm training for my future profession. :D

[rpgSE.com @ Feb 20th 2007 1:15PM]

Nintendo Wii and DS players are the players who went to gamer college for surgery with those Trauma Center line of games :)

[ForumMaster @ Feb 20th 2007 2:05PM]

video games improve eye-hand coordination as well as depth perception. it is no surprise that these skills are beneficial for surgeons.

[Mike @ Feb 20th 2007 7:20PM]

And I always thought that playing "Operation" was the only to get mad surgery skillz.

[raymond @ Feb 20th 2007 9:55PM]

sweet.

[Samantha @ Feb 27th 2007 12:26PM]

Nice...I'm upping my kids gamefly account. No doing your homework until you finish your gaming! Come on baby, mommy wants a surgeon :)

[williamgeorge @ Oct 1st 2008 5:02AM]

Researchers who gathered in Boston for the American Psychological Association convention detailed a series of studies suggesting video games can be powerful learning tools — from increasing younger students' problem-solving potential to improving the suturing skills of laparoscopic surgeons.
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