Surgeons steady hand and steady eye?

Question

I want to be a doctor and most probably specialize in surgery. I think my hand is steady as i can paint well and i got a good shot in shooting (I practice it as a sport). Now I'm not sure if this means much but I was just wondering if there is a simple test which can tell you if you have good hands to be a surgeon, if it is that necessary. Also you need a steady eye to be a surgeon? What exactly does that mean ... a sharp eye? good eye sight? Thanks for your help

Answer 1

I'm deeply involved in surgical education.  I'm a practicing surgeon at a teaching facility.  I supervise and train surgical residents.  

You've touched on a very interesting question and one that I've spent a lot of time trying to grapple with.  What sorts of characteristics should I be looking for in surgical training applicants?

I'll start by saying that the types of things that we tend to focus on are NOT necessarily the right ones.  For example, we spend an inordinate amount of energy comparing scores on standardized tests such as the USMLE which is a medical licensure examination that medical students have to go through.  We believe that their ability to do well on that test may relate to their ability to perform well on the ABSITE test, a yearly exam that surgical trainees must take.  We also pay attention to the letters of recommendation that an applicant submits, not only in terms of what is said, but also who is doing the writing.  When we've decided that an applications packet has merit, we invite that applicant for an interview, and a lot of our impression rests on how they perform in the interview setting.

The fact is, I can probably train just about anyone to do the manual skill of basic general surgery.  There are clearly situations where a "steady hand" is a good thing, but I don't think there's any correlation between one's sense that they have a steady hand outside the operating room and what happens during surgery.  Surgery can be exhausting, it can be stressful and it can actually be painful to the surgeon.  There are lots of reasons why someone's fine motor control will vary over the day and even over the course of a single operation.

The above post is 100% correct that judgement is one of the central components to surgery.  The reason is that the key to making surgery an effective tool for helping patients is in knowing when to operate, when not to operate, and what sorts of things to do along the way.  Surgery is about making critical decisions, and therefore surgical training is about amassing the knowledge-base to make those decisions which lead to excellent outcomes.

So, the question falls back to that of picking out people who are "trainable" in the surgical art and science.  What are the adaptive characteristics?  Who has them?  How can I identify that people do or don't have them?  These are the questions I'm fundamentally tasked with, and the answers don't come easily.

I tend to fall back on my own personal experiences with training residents and look for commonalities that might give me clues.  

One of the most remarkable features of a surgical resident needs to be that they have a tremendous hunger and drive for acquirring knowledge.  During the process of training, a resident needs to become curious about things and go looking for answers in the extensive body of medical literature.  They need to be able to self identify skills issues and practice them without being told.  They need to spontaneously develop a pattern of self improvement without me having to tell them that it's a good thing.  They have to make this self-improvement drive part of the core of their being and carry it out of training and across the long arc of their career.  

For this reason, I look for signs that applicants already have this sort of drive.  I look for people who have taken up activities that they've given 110% to.  I want to see that they've trained, they've studied, and they've become excited about something far beyond a casual level.  That really speaks to me.  If I'm convinced that they've turned the same zeal toward surgery, I see someone I want to work with.

For some applicants, this zeal is really in the form of academics.  That's by far and away the most common channel through which these people will express their natures.  However, I've found it in many other areas too.  Some are athletes, some are artists, I've even had a guy show up who used to run a pool installation crew.  When that guy started explaining the attention to detail he had to maintain while supervising the construction process, and when I learned about all the various aspects of the business that he'd had to grow into, I knew that I was looking at a surgeon.  He's since completed a cardiothoracic fellowship and is an assistant professor at a major university.  He's one of my shining stars.

A good hand?   A sharp eye?   I don't exactly know what those mean, truth to tell.  I need a strong drive, a willingness to consistantly go the extra mile to attain goals, and a proven record of academic capability.  If I meet that applicant and I'm struck by a warm, genuine, forthright individual, then I'm likely to give them their shot.  If they get in, they've got 5 years with me to work on surgical skills, to develop a lifelong pattern of self improvement, and to temper their judgement through study and experience.

  

Answer 2

Yes, surgeons need steady hands and good eyes. They don't need 20/20 vision without glasses. Many surgeons wear glasses. Although some surgeons appear to have natural manual dexterity, the fact is that after training one can develop that dexterity. I think the most important quality of a surgeon is good judgment. From what you tell us, I don't see a reason why you couldn't become a surgeon. Btw one of the things surgeons enjoy doing to keep that manual dexterity is to play video games.