Give me some suggestions...please

[nonick123]

So today we were tying surgical knots for the first time and while it was easy for some, it was darn hard for me. I am desperate, because I am very interested in urology and I know that manual dexterity is needed(which i don't have obviously). Can you please give me some ideas how to improve my manual dexterity so i could be able to perform well.

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[Wolverines83]

Start with a shoelace or something bigger. Learn the knots with that and then go smaller and smaller. Also, for some people, one handed tying is easier. Don't automatically think two handed is easier.

Practice at home while watching TV.... Find anything you can use as an anchor and just keep tying....after a couple days you'll be good

Also, YouTube videos are your friend

 

[nonick123]

And what other activities can I do to improve manual dexterirty? I have heard knitting/sewing/suturing oranges or bananas are very effective.

 

[hallowmann]

And what other activities can I do to improve manual dexterirty? I have heard knitting/sewing/suturing oranges or bananas are very effective.

Video games?

Here is a free kit you can get, which might be nice to start with:

http://www.ethicon.com/healthcare-professionals/education/student-knot-tying-kit

Looks like it's on backorder, but keep checking back every once and a while to see if they have it in stock.

 

[psych72]

Video games?

Here is a free kit you can get, which might be nice to start with:

http://www.ethicon.com/healthcare-professionals/education/student-knot-tying-kit

Looks like it's on backorder, but keep checking back every once and a while to see if they have it in stock.

It was on back order 2 years ago when I needed it too.

I think it's a good idea to start practicing with shoe laces. You will then progress to bananas and then during your gen surg rotation you will start doing humans.

But most importantly if you want to to do urology, your boards are going to be more important than your suturing abilities (for now at least).

For whatever its worth, I'm starting Psych residency soon, and I have forgotten how to suture, beause I was never really forced to do it, since I never wanted to do surgery. So instead i intubated, did lines, held traction... But I'm sure during intern year I won't have that luxury of opting not do it during my ER rotation and will have to be able to do lacerations....so I plan on practicing on pig skin and bananas in the meantime.

 

[hallowmann]

It was on back order 2 years ago when I needed it too...

Yeah, but it periodically opens up. For example, I was able to get one earlier this semester.

 

[SurgeDO]

it's not about manual dexterity. it's about repeating the process of knot tying over and over and over and over and over again. muscle memory.

learn from youtube videos. learn to tie an instrument tie first, then a two handed knot, and then a single handed. do it over and over again. buy a spool of thread and tie knots around the arm wrests of your office chair, around your steering wheel for when you are stopped at red lights, and anything else you can think of. come first day of your surgery rotation, you better know how to tie. don't ever deny an attending or resident by telling them you already know how to tie when they offer to teach. play dumb and then rock their world with your skills.

 

[CrookedCucumber]

I got the ethicon kit earlier this year and found it to be...not so useful. I'd been using an old shoelace on the arm of my deskchair while watching sketchymicro videos. You get pretty good at it after a few hundred times. I met a surgeon who suggested that I start using thread, so I bought a spool. You can up the ante by putting on gloves and trying it with thread, then switch hands when you get comfortable. Pick a video on YouTube and just practice it until you get it down.