Abstract
Purpose :
To determine if prior experience with fine motor hobbies influences a surgeon-in-training’s performance on a cataract surgical simulator.
Methods :
Medical students performed the Navigation, Forceps, and Capsulorhexis modules on the Eyesi Ophthalmosurgical Simulator (Figure 1). Each task was performed twice and scores out of 100% were recorded. Following simulation, a survey was administered regarding prior experience with various fine motor hobbies including musical instruments, video games, drawing, and extracurricular anatomy dissection. Prior experience observing and assisting cataract surgery was also recorded.
Results :
70 medical students were recruited (male N=43, female N=27, mean age=24). Of the fine motor hobbies assessed, medical students with extracurricular dissection experience, including work in research laboratories involving animal dissection, scored significantly higher on the simulator (Forceps p=0.004, Capsulorhexis p=0.05; Figures 2 and 4). In addition, medical students with drawing experience performed better on Capsulorhexis (p=0.01; Figures 3 and 4). No other fine motor hobbies were significant for improving scores on the simulator tasks (Figure 4). Participants with prior experience assisting cataract surgery did significantly better on the Capsulorhexis simulation (N=2, p=0.04).
Conclusions :
Medical students with experience in drawing and fine dissection, as well as those who assisted cataract surgery previously, scored significantly higher on at least one simulator task. Students with experience playing musical instruments or video games did not score higher. Our conclusions differ from previous research, which found a significant effect of video game playing on cataract surgery simulation (1). Our findings may have implications for predicting microsurgical skill during the selection of ophthalmology residents.
Citations:
1. Chung AT, Lenci LT, Wang K, et al. Effect of fine-motor-skill activities on surgical simulator performance. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2017;43(7):915-922.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.