Amusing correlation of the day: "Doctors who spent at least three hours a week playing video games made about 37 percent fewer mistakes in laparoscopic surgery and performed the task 27 percent faster than their counterparts who did not play video games:"
The study on whether good video game skills translate into surgical prowess was done by researchers with Beth Israel and the National Institute on Media and the Family at Iowa State University. It was based on testing 33 fellow doctors — 12 attending physicians and 21 medical school residents who participated from May to August 2003.
Each doctor completed three video game tasks that tested such factors as motor skills, reaction time and hand-eye coordination.
The study "landmarks the arrival of Generation X into medicine," said the study's co-author, Dr. Paul J. Lynch, a Beth Israel anesthesiologist who has studied the effects of video games for years.
Perhaps operating tables could have score counters attached, so that top surgeons can enter their initials? And I wonder if, 25 years ago, there were studies done to see how much better expert surgeons were at the board game Operation?
Posted by kswygert at April 7, 2004 03:39 PM