How’s your needlepoint? Have you ever tried your hand at knitting?
It’s true the path to a medical career can be lengthy and this doesn’t leave lots of time for learning hobbies.
But it should . . . because what you do in your spare time could have a positive impact on your work.
According to the excellently named Roger Kneebone, Professor of Surgical Education at Imperial College London, a lack of manual dexterity among medical students is hampering the development of surgical skills.
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His solution? A return to old-fashioned crafts that involve cutting out and stitching.
Robots that can make incisions and suture patients are already in operating theatres and the next generation of ‘medbots’ is set to launch in the next few years.
But they’re not going to be able to do everything.
So if you want to boost your surgical techniques here are a few suggestions from s1jobs to get your fingers moving.
Quilting
It takes many months and thousands of stitches to make a quilt so by the time you’ve completed just one your abilities with a needle will have increased significantly. Quilts are an expressive form of folk art and they keep you warm at night too. What’s not to like?
Models
The fiddly bits of plastic aeroplanes tax even the most dexterous fingers so get started on your collection. The more you make the better you’ll become at creating planes and some of today’s leading surgeons have admitted they owe their abilities in the operating theatre to an obsession with model making in childhood.
Music
Rattling off a spot of Vivaldi on the violin or tackling the trickier movements of Beethoven on the piano are just some of the ways to exercise your digits. From the flute to the lute, almost every instrument provides a way to improve dexterity and some of them will also make you popular at parties.
Cake decorating
You’ve only to watch Bake Off to see how much hand-to-eye co-ordination it takes to work with icing sugar. All those rose petals and swirly writing take real skill to master.
In schools cake decorating is one of the recommended modules for pupils who want to pursue a career in medicine. And you can always eat your mistakes!
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