Video games improve surgical skills of surgeons

Can you imagine asking your doctor before surgery if you like video games? According to a study at the University of Iowa (USA), this form of entertainment enhances the dexterity of surgeons.

"Video games increase the potential for solving problems." So explain several researchers gathered at the Convention of the American Psychological Association, held recently in Boston (Massachusetts).

At this meeting there have been several studies that show that the benefits of certain video games go beyond virtual emotions of each game such as defeating demons, get to the finish ...

One of the works, developed at Fordham University, focused on 122 students. They were asked to think aloud for 20 minutes while they were participating in a video game that used for the first time. Thus, experts were able to deduce that this kind of entertainment enhancing cognitive and perception .

Another study analyzed the famous video presented 'World of Warcraft', known in most countries. The experts concluded that "can improve scientific thinking."

In the same convention and based on this premise, Douglas Gentile, a psychology professor at the University of Iowa, presented a study on the impact of video games on the instruction of surgeons in the XXI century.

This study involved 33 surgeons (15 men and 18 women) Beth Israel Medical Center, of which 22 were specialized in General Surgery, Urology two and nine in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The research focused on four sets: 'Top Gun', a program of skill in laparoscopy that has been used to teach "thousands of surgeons around the world," 'Super Money Ball 2', 'Star Wars Racer Revenge' and 'Silent Scope. The last three are aimed at developing skills required for such games.

Faster and less mistakes
The surgeons who participated in the previous game for at least three hours before operations were 27% faster in surgery and their errors were reduced by 37%. Ultimately results achieved 42% better than those that were not specialists entertained with games.

In fact, surgeons who were positioned between the first best players were 39% faster and their errors decreased by 47%. "The results show that physicians who perform laparoscopic and used video games were faster and more accurate , "says Gentile.

In laparoscopy, the specialists perform minimal incisions, surgical instruments used smaller video cameras to see inside the body. This practice involves special skill, in view of the results obtained in the study, may develop increasingly through games. "The amazing thing is that to achieve this, it is necessary to use a surgical simulator as commercial games also get advanced surgical skills improve , "says Gentile.

Over a year, a study published in the journal Archives of Surgery 'which determined that the skills needed for video games predict suturing skills of doctors.

Douglas Gentile and his team have conducted a second study that shows the differences between the skills and abilities developed by surgeons who play video games and those of doctors who are not familiar with these games. This is a job that has not yet been published and include a greater number of surgeons, exactly 303.