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Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

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  • Title: Surgical skills acquisition among left-handed trainees-true inferiority or unfair assessment: a preliminary study.
    Author: Lee JY, Mucksavage P, McDougall EM.
    Journal: J Surg Educ; 2013; 70(2):237-42. PubMed ID: 23427970.
    Abstract:
    INTRODUCTION: Studies involving the formal assessment of surgical skills have often reported inferior abilities among left-handed surgical trainees (LHT). Most surgical training curricula and assessment methods, however, are inherently geared toward right-handed trainees (RHT); potentially placing LHT at both a training and assessment disadvantage. We evaluated the effect of a hand dominance-based curriculum for acquisition of basic suturing and knot tying skills among medical students. METHODS: After Institutional Review Board approval, first- and second-year medical students from the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine were recruited to participate in a basic suturing and knot tying skills course. Consenting students were randomized to either a left-handed curriculum or a right-handed curriculum consisting of (1) a 30-minute introductory video and (2) a 2-hour instructor-led, hands-on training session on basic suturing and knot tying. All instructional methods, instruments, and instructors were exclusively right-handed or left-handed for the right-handed curriculum or left-handed curriculum, respectively. Students were assessed on the performance of 2 suturing tasks, continuous running suturing and instrument knot tying, and performance assessments were conducted both immediately and 2 weeks posttraining. RESULTS: A total of 19 students completed the training course and both assessments (8 LHT, 11 RHT). Students randomized to a curriculum "concordant" with their hand dominance performed significantly better than those randomized to a "discordant" curriculum on both tasks (p < 0.01). This difference was found at both immediate and 2 weeks posttraining assessments. Within concordant and discordant groups, there were no significant differences between LHT and RHT. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study demonstrates that medical students, both LHT and RHT, immersed in a training environment that is discordant with their hand dominance might have inferior acquisition of basic suturing and knot tying skills.
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