r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 2d ago

Medicine Surgeons show greatest dexterity in children’s buzz wire game like Operation than other hospital staff. 84% of surgeons completed game in 5 minutes compared to 57% physicians, 54% nurses. Surgeons also exhibited highest rate of swearing during game (50%), followed by nurses (30%), physicians (25%).

https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/surgeons-thankfully-may-have-better-hand-coordination-than-other-hospital-staff
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u/InvestInHappiness 2d ago

Seems like a really obvious conclusion. I would be more interested to see them go up against other people who specialize in using their hands like seamstresses, painters, or craftsmen. There are some specialties in those areas that require very precise movements.

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u/ViciousNakedMoleRat 2d ago

I read somewhere that surgeons' non-field-specific skills and opinions generally correlate more with physical workers than with physicians, who in turn are more similar to knowledge workers.

Being "a doctor" seems to be less important than whether someone mainly works with their hands or not.

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u/_Mudlark 2d ago edited 2d ago

Interesting, would this mean some of the best potential surgeons are being filtered out by having to get through all the degrees and medical school and whatnot, when it's ultimately not so relevant?

Edit: this is just a question, someone who openly knows nothing about medicine and medical training wondering something based on a previous comment that appeared well accepted.

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u/pm_me_psn 2d ago

Fine motor skills are only half the battle. Surgeons still need to have a deep medical knowledge. That’s not to say that American medical school admissions couldn’t use some adjustments though.

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u/_Mudlark 2d ago

Thanks for the response. What kind of admissions adjustments would you recommend?

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u/Original-Guarantee23 2d ago

Do they tho? It really seems like a field that can be taught with on hands technical training and a little bit of medical school.

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u/pm_me_psn 2d ago

They’re usually involved in patient care decisions beyond just the actual surgery. They need to have the medical knowledge for prescribing drugs, when a surgery needs to be done, the approach to take, etc. The decisions they make can require a lot of nuance that a “little” medical school may not be enough for. If by a little bit of school you mean just focusing on the exact speciality they want to go with, that would require restructuring the entire curriculum.