So you think video games are just for kids? Kids are just “wasting their time” when they could be out in the sunshine? Video games have no “real world” applications? Think again!

According to a report in one of the JAMA Archives of Surgery, a study was conducted involving 12 surgeons and 21 surgical residents. Subjects in the study were questioned about their videogame playing habits, and this information was used to compare results among all the participants’ performance in a two-day training class. The class scores participants on time and errors during simulated surgery drills.

The study was conducted over a three-month period, during which the participants also played three video games for 25 minutes while the researchers also assessed their gaming skills. (The videogames used were not named.) The results were rather interesting, but perhaps not surprising. Surgeons with past videogame experience (playing more than three hours per week) scored 37 percent fewer errors and 27 percent faster completion. Current videogame players scored 32 percent fewer errors and performed at a 24 percent faster completion rate that their non-gaming colleagues. Those with better demonstrated videogame skills made 47 percent fewer errors, performed 39 percent faster and scored 41 percent higher in overall performance.

The bottom line: if you need surgery, find a surgeon who plays videogames! Perhaps Trauma Center is not that far off the mark in pioneering new training techniques for future surgeons.

- Patty Estill