How hand surgeons learn: a survey on resources for knowledge and information acquisition

The acquisition and maintenance of knowledge is a continuous process which extends throughout clinical practice. Hand surgeons draw on a wide range of educational resources, but preferences and reading habits are not well described. This study aimed to identify how hand surgeons access and prioritize information for learning and decision-making.

An anonymous, cross-sectional online survey was distributed by the Young European Hand Surgeons Committee and Federation of European Societies for the Surgery of the Hand (FESSH) Office to hand surgeons across Europe. The 28 item questionnaire covered demographics, preferred learning resources, reading habits and multimedia use. Continuous variables were presented as means. Group comparisons used chi-square testing.

A total of 95 responses were analysed (mean age 37.7 years; 78% under 40; 60% specialists). Textbooks were the most frequently used resource for learning unfamiliar topics (49%) and preparing for operations (44%), followed by senior colleagues and journals. For staying up-to-date, online journals (39%) and webinars (13%) were preferred. The Journal of Hand Surgery (European Volume) was the most frequently read journal (59%), and Green's Operative Hand Surgery was the leading textbook (89%). Residents relied more on online resources such as Orthobullets (61%) than specialists (25%) (p = 0.0013), while specialists more often subscribed to journals and followed new issues regularly.

Hand surgeons combine traditional and digital resources for learning. Textbooks, journals and mentorship remain central, but digital tools are increasingly used. These findings offer a valuable insight into educational resource use across different stages of training.