Videogames And Surgery - Fine Bedfellows?

Thanks to GamerDad for their editorial discussing why playing videogames can make you a better doctor. The author, a medical man and long-time gamer, found "...that when learning how to perform laparoscopic surgery, that it seemed to come relatively easy for me", explaining laparoscopy is "...operating by watching the instruments on a television screen. You are not able to look down at your hands because you need to keep your eyes on the screen." He credits games as "honing my hand-eye coordination", and concludes: "In my professional opinion, growing up in the age of video games has helped me to learn how to perform laparoscopic surgery more easily and quickly." Which careers are you better-suited for through your use of videogames?

Comments

Actually it's pretty well known in medical field!

[spineboy]

I'm an orthopaedic surgeon, and we do plenty of 'scopes (arthroscopy = placing instruments and camera into joints to perform/aid in surgery).
Within 5 seonds of a residents first time at the scope, you can tell whether they have played video games.

I definately played more games than my fellow residents, and was generally reguarded as the best in arthroscopy in my class.(Yes this is anecdotal evidence, but probably 90% of the OB/Gyns, general surgeons and orthopaedists that I have worked with think that playing video games helps!)

This is probably the only time in our training where we are encouraged to play video games!(Well, that is if you are sub-optimal at scoping.)