The perception of gastroenterology fellows towards the relationship between hand size and endoscopic training

Some endoscopic trainees find it difficult to manipulate an endoscope's controls, possibly due to small hand size. To assess this, a survey was mailed to all gastroenterology fellows in the US. Two hundred twenty-seven of 1,295 (17.5%) fellows responded. Median surgical glove size was 7.5. Ninety-three respondents (41.0%) considered their hand too small for a standard endoscope's handle; 176 (78.2%) felt that hand size affects the ability to learn endoscopy. Seventy-seven (34.2%) would use smaller handled endoscopes if available. Of the 38 respondents with glove sizes < or =6.5, 37 (97.4%) were female. These respondents were more likely to consider their hand too small (P < 0.001), want to use smaller handled endoscopes (P < 0.001), and feel that training programs should offer them (P = 0.009). These results suggest that a significant number of trainees, especially women, perceive that their hands are too small for standard endoscopes and believe that hand size plays a role in learning and performing endoscopy.