When you consider the skills of a surgeon it makes sense that someone who is good at gaming may have an advantage in the surgical arena. A professor of surgery recently claimed that younger surgeons are losing their manual dexterity because they play too many computer games. This has caused many surgeons to come out in disagreement. A wave of surgeons now says that they believe computer games are a good way to improve surgical skills and are a great warm-up before surgery.
Saied Froghi says he played games like Halo and Age of Empires during medical school and they contributed to him being a successful surgeon today.
Concentration
One of the key skills in surgery and in video games is the ability to focus for long periods of time on one thing. In keyhole surgery, a surgeon must look at a small screen and move a device very carefully. It is easy to draw a comparison to any video game that requires a similar level of concentration.
Hand-eye coordination
Surgeons need to be very skilled at looking at one area while moving their hands without supervision. This skill is core in any video game as you are generally looking at a screen while using a controller. Modern surgery is increasingly using machines and robotics and the ability to control these devices is key. Froghi pointed out how some of the devices he uses are counter-intuitive. Some devices he uses are inverted so that when he wants to move left he has to move the device right. This inversion is common in video games and can teach you how to manipulate strange devices in the surgical field.
Pressure
There are often high-pressure moments in video games. While you may not lose someone’s actual life in a video game you rarely want to lose a game life either. The high-pressure situations of video games allow surgeons to be more relaxed in real surgery.
