I don't know about studies, but as someone who performs surgery, a *lot* of it comes down to dexterity and physical skill.
Ultimately, that and the confidence are the most important attributes. Medical knowledge is important, yeah, but it's a far distant third. You need to be confident (usually bordering on arrogant) enough to say 'Yeah, I'm going to cut this living thing open, shove my hand in its abdomen, pull stuff out until I find what I need, and sew it back up, and not freak out if something unexpected happens in the process.'
(As an anecdote, when I was learning surgical technique I did all of my hobby embroidery for a year using thumb forceps and needle drivers. It was a pain, but it meant that by the time I got to clinics my suturing skills were rock solid....)
An anecdote in a book I read long ago had a teaching surgeon admonishing his students to darn their own socks or whatever other sewing practice they could possibly muster. It sounded like there was a lot of desperately needed practicing on cadavers before being allowed anywhere near a live patient.
Thank you for this. I keep saying that I'm not alpha enough to have become a doctor. I'm certainly not arrogant enough to believe that pursuing surgery (or dentistry) would have been a good idea... for one thing my depth perception is pretty piss-poor, for another, I'm just not that confident. I wish there were a good way to say such things without sounding like I'm knocking on doctors for their arrogance (I'm not... unless they take it to extremes) or demeaning myself (mostly, I'm not, it's "just" the product of reflection on who I am and how I like to function in the world... most days).
Ultimately, that and the confidence are the most important attributes. Medical knowledge is important, yeah, but it's a far distant third. You need to be confident (usually bordering on arrogant) enough to say 'Yeah, I'm going to cut this living thing open, shove my hand in its abdomen, pull stuff out until I find what I need, and sew it back up, and not freak out if something unexpected happens in the process.'
(As an anecdote, when I was learning surgical technique I did all of my hobby embroidery for a year using thumb forceps and needle drivers. It was a pain, but it meant that by the time I got to clinics my suturing skills were rock solid....)
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An anecdote in a book I read long ago had a teaching surgeon admonishing his students to darn their own socks or whatever other sewing practice they could possibly muster. It sounded like there was a lot of desperately needed practicing on cadavers before being allowed anywhere near a live patient.
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And thank you for the confirmation; kind of what I figured.
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