Play, surgeon!

A special study has shown that video games have a positive effect on the professional skills of surgeons. The February issue of the specialized journal Archives of Surgery published the results of an interesting experiment conducted at a medical center in New York. It was found that games have a positive effect on the abilities of surgeons performing laparoscopy - examining the patient's internal organs using a special device with a camera at the end, which is inserted through incisions in the patient's body and transmits an image to a monitor screen. Of the 33 surgeons who took part in the testing, 9 doctors played video games at least 3 hours a week. It turned out that the doctors who played games made 37% fewer errors, worked 27% faster and completed the test task 42% better than the 15 surgeons who ignored electronic entertainment. The study's authors concluded that video games can be a very useful training tool for surgeons (without, unfortunately, specifying specific genres). At the same time, the study warns parents that, despite the undeniable benefits of games (improving vision, hand-eye coordination, motor skills, attention, depth perception, and, finally, simply providing computer skills), they should not allow their children to spend many hours at a time in front of a computer or console. Furthermore, the researchers add that excessive gaming will not increase the chances of future specialists being admitted to medical school.