U.K. surgeon gives thumbs down to medical students' lack of dexterity

[la marzocco]

A U.K. doctor who trains surgeons is voicing concern over the lack of manual dexterity among medical students these days.

"It seems we can no longer rely on people having developed these ways of using their hands from early childhood, at home and at school," Dr. Roger Kneebone told The Current's guest host, Piya Chattopadhay.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-november-9-2018-1.4895735/u-k-surgeon-gives-thumbs-down-to-medical-students-lack-of-dexterity-1.4898663

Maybe a bit sensational, but I think there is some method to what he is saying in that tactile-based education is becoming more and more obsolete in early childhood education. Parents are becoming more and more inclined to shove them the iPad or turn no the TV and schools seem to be reducing. Manual dexterity is definitely learnt and refined during childhood and adolescence.

[bigboydyo]

With a name like Dr. Kneebone I hope he is in orthopedics

[Edict]

He definitely has a point in that students these days are less likely to be comfortable with manual tasks, but in exchange students are better with video games which is useful for laparoscopic procedures. 

Ultimately, its a bit sensationalist because 99.9% of students aren't going to become surgeons, so changing the curriculum just to slightly increase the dexterity of medical students who are going to need 10 years of surgical training regardless just sounds pretty useless. 

[indefatigable]

5 hours ago, la marzocco said:

Maybe a bit sensational, but I think there is some method to what he is saying in that tactile-based education is becoming more and more obsolete in early childhood education. Parents are becoming more and more inclined to shove them the iPad or turn no the TV and schools seem to be reducing. Manual dexterity is definitely learnt and refined during childhood and adolescence.

Ironically, wealthy tech executives and Silicon valley elite are eschewing screen time in favour of old-fashioned play and human interaction.

"America’s public schools are still promoting devices with screens — even offering digital-only preschools. The rich are banning screens from class altogether.

...

And parents say there is a growing technological divide between public and private schools even in the same community. While the private Waldorf School of the Peninsula, popular with Silicon Valley executives, eschews most screens, the nearby public Hillview Middle School advertises its 1:1 iPad program

...

“There’s a message out there that your child is going to be crippled and in a different dimension if they’re not on the screen,” said Pierre Laurent, a former Microsoft and Intel executive now on the board of trustees at Silicon Valley’s Waldorf School. “That message doesn’t play as well in this part of the world.”

“People in this region of the world understand that the real thing is everything that’s happening around big data, AI, and that is not something that you’re going to be particularly good at because you have a cellphone in fourth grade,” Mr. Laurent said."

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/style/digital-divide-screens-schools.html

[Birdy]

Ah, what can’t be blamed on “kids these days” and the lazy parents raising them. 

Nonsense like that has been said about every generation, and it will be said about every generation in the future. 

My oldest does absolutely have issues with his fine motor skills, but he’s autistic, it kind of goes with the territory. It’s something we work on. My second oldest wants to be a surgeon and has been able to do simple interrupted and running locked sutures since she was six.