Should you buy surgeons a PlayStation 3?
Study links video games, laparoscopic skills
Surgeons who are skilled at video games also are more skilled at laparoscopic surgery, according to a just-released study published in the February issue of Archives of Surgery.1
However, before you invest in the latest version of PlayStation 3 for your surgeon's lounge, consider these caveats from Myriam J. Curet, MD, FACS, professor of surgery, associate residency program director, and associate dean for medical education, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford (CA) University, who wrote a critique of the study:2
- The study was small (12 surgeons and 21 surgical residents).
- While the authors suggest that video game playing should be included in laparoscopic skill training, their data indicate that is it is past playing that actually improves laparoscopic skills.
- The authors didn't identify what years of playing will improve laparoscopic skills. "If those skills are best developed from the ages of 8 to 15 years, then video game play during residence is fruitless," Curet said.2
- The study doesn't indicate that good scores on the Rosser Top Gun Laparoscopic Skills and Suturing Program (Top Gun), which was used for the study, decrease deaths, increase patient safety, or are tied to competency. Superb judgment, great interpersonal skills, and outstanding communication skills may make a better physician than someone who has high Top Gun scores, Curet says.2
Curet said, however, that there is a lesson to be learned: "We should consider using video games as another tool to help surgeons reach competency."
References
- Rosser JC, Lynch PJ, Cuddihy L, et al. The impact of video games on training surgeons in the 21st Century. Arch Surg 2007; 142(2):181-186.
- Curet MJ. Invited critique. Arch Surg 2007; 142(1):186.
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