Enhancing Laparoscopic Simulation Skills Through Nondominant Hand Training in Daily Activities.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Skills Training
• Motor Learning

Background:

• Right-handed individuals often have underdeveloped nondominant hand motor dexterity.
• Enhanced motor skills in the nondominant hand are increasingly crucial for surgeons due to technological advancements.
• Improving nondominant hand proficiency is vital for surgical performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of increased nondominant hand use on laparoscopic simulator task proficiency.
• To determine if daily ambidexterity activities enhance surgical skills in preclinical medical students.
• To evaluate changes in motor dexterity and confidence levels.

Main Methods:

• 18 preclinical medical students were divided into experimental and control groups.
• Participants completed laparoscopic simulator tasks twice, with a three-week intervention for the experimental group.
• The experimental group engaged in daily nondominant hand activities, with compliance tracked via surveys.

Main Results:

• The experimental group showed significant proficiency improvement in two of three laparoscopic tasks (p<0.05).
• No participants mastered the most complex dexterity task, indicating limitations in fine motor skill gains.
• 100% of the experimental group reported increased confidence in their laparoscopic abilities post-intervention.

Conclusions:

• Short-term, self-directed ambidexterity training can enhance basic laparoscopic skills and learner confidence.
• While beneficial for general proficiency, this training showed limited improvement in fine motor control for complex tasks.
• The findings support integrating nondominant hand use into medical curricula and daily practice for surgeons.