Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 8, 2026
Author Spotlight: Rehabilitation of Stroke Patients With a Digital Occupational Training System
Published on: December 29, 2023
Challenges training left-handed surgeons
Maia Anderson1, Erica Carballo1, David Hughes2
1University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Background:
Being left-handed (LH) is considered a disadvantage in surgical training. We sought to understand the perspectives of LH trainees and surgical educators on the challenges and modifications in training LH surgeons.
Methods:
A survey was distributed to surgeons, surgical residents, and medical students about challenges teaching and learning surgical technique.
Results:
25 LH surgeons, 65 right-handed (RH) surgeons, and 39 LH trainees completed the survey. Compared to LH surgeons, RH surgeons reported more difficulty (46% vs 16%, p = 0.003) and less comfort teaching LH trainees (28% vs 4%, p = 0.002), and 10 (15%) reported that LH trainees have less technical ability. RH surgeons identified challenges translating technique to LH trainees and physical limitations of an environment optimized for right-handed mechanics.
Conclusions:
The disadvantage LH surgical trainees face is due to barriers in training rather than inherent lesser ability. Nonetheless, minimal modifications are made to overcome these barriers.
