Video games for manual dexterity?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
M

malikhind

Full Member
5+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2017
Messages
213
Reaction score
164
What are your thoughts on putting video games for the manual dexterity question of the application? I think it definitely helps with hand-eye coordination, but I feel like admissions committees would not look to fondly on that.
Members don't see this ad.
 
malikhind said:
What are your thoughts on putting video games for the manual dexterity question of the application? I think it definitely helps with hand-eye coordination, but I feel like admissions committees would not look to fondly on that.
Click to expand...
I very briefly put that I was a proficient typist and keyboarder and also that I played video games... I didn’t go into much detail about it though and talked more about other things that I felt looked better for this section
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I put it on there, and I actually talked to one of my interviewers for 30 minutes about video games because he loved playing them too. Also, one of the admissions directors at Penn said they realize dental student nowadays are starting dental school with much better manual dexterity than previous generations due to our increase use of handheld devices/video games. I really don’t think it would negatively affect you. It’s just another hobby.
 
I put it on mine. It shows you have a better grasp on how to use your hands at least.
 
I personally feel like putting video game for the manual dexterity is a joke... Dental school is a professional school and I can’t believe admissions view fondly upon that. If they do, that’s great to hear, but I think there are a lot of other “real” activities that require manual dexterity.
 
I used to be a professional gamer back around 2004 and continued playing games. I definitely agree that it requires tremendous dexterity and coordination, especially on PC.

However, I also obtained several professional advisements on this matter to not mention it. If the interviewer and admission office understand that gaming requires such and such, as with Pablo's case, then you are totally good. However, there are also people that have complete hatred toward games, in which case you may have a trouble. ~10 years ago, everyone would have told you to not mention it in the application. It seems like it's undergoing a shift from that view now, but still, I'd be careful.

I left it out of my application. I can't gamble with that.
 
malikhind said:
What are your thoughts on putting video games for the manual dexterity question of the application? I think it definitely helps with hand-eye coordination, but I feel like admissions committees would not look to fondly on that.
Click to expand...
I put that on my application. Was fine.
 
icaD said:
I think its interesting as WHO just classified videogame addiction as a mental health issue right?

I asked a dentist I shadowed recently about putting something in my personal statement and he said its not worth the risk. Not worth upsetting or bringing bias towards you for something minimal.

But I do think there are more and more people who casually play videogames so I doubt it'll be so stigmitized in the professional setting. Think I saw somewhere surgeons have better coordination if they play videogames for an hour before surgery.
Click to expand...
We’re not talking about addiction. We’re talking about just playing casually/for fun as a hobby. I just went through the cycle, received 16 interviews, and never once was it brought up in a negative way. I think you guys are overthinking it. It’s highly improbable that your app will be thrown out because you mentioned video games. Just my opinion though. If you’re worried about it, don’t mention it 🙂
 
2TH MVR said:
Include texting. That according to some posters here should improve manual dexterity over all those prior old people who never played video games or texted.
Lol.
Click to expand...




You can’t tell me this doesn’t require some manual dexterity! I would like to see an old timer try to do this 😛
 
Last edited:
Interesting topic. It make sense. Younger gens grew up playing video games, texting, etc which over time would improve hand motor skills. Yet ... talking orthodontics only .... older gens were taught how to bend wire (place progressive posterior torque, 1st, 2nd and 3rd order bends, adjust Hawley rets, make adjustments as needed, fancy closing loops, etc. etc. New gen orthodontists appear content using pre-adjusted, self-ligating brackets, aligners that require little to no actual wire bending skills. Technology has replaced the need for fine motor skills.

All I know is that my kids can text a lot faster than myself. 🙂
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I 100% agree with @Life of Pablo. Personally, I put it on there for manual dexterity, as well as in my personal statement. I was a professional Call of Duty player for 3 years and it was a pivotal part of my life. Needless to say, the VERY first thing my interviewer at UCLA asked me was 'Tell me more about this, Call of Duty', and we soared from there. I personally don't think something so minuscule on such a holistic application will negatively affect you. We're in an age where video games are surging and it's becoming very normal parts of people's lives, and I can say that it has helped me for the better, personally.
 
Last edited:
What if you just forgot to put something down in that section. I was focused on other portions of my application so I forgot to fill that out when I submitted my application.
 
Life of Pablo said:
In that case, they may throw your app out 😛
Click to expand...

Pearl E. White said:
Such good memories of playing DOOM and Wolfenstein with my grandfather on the computer...
Click to expand...

DOOM came out in 2016. Did you age 20 years in 2 years? Impressive.

Don’t worry, I get it, you probably meant the 90’s version. Still, grandfather? I don’t know many grandparents out there who can handle a TV remote let alone a controller and keyboard.
 
DentalDegree3 said:
DOOM came out in 2016. Did you age 20 years in 2 years? Impressive.

Don’t worry, I get it, you probably meant the 90’s version. Still, grandfather? I don’t know many grandparents out there who can handle a TV remote let alone a controller and keyboard.
Click to expand...
Yep. I meant the computer version which came out around 1995 for MS DOS I think. My grandfather loved those games and some mystery ones like Myst. As he got older, we would play Rainbow 6 on Xbox. At this time he was in his 60s. I grew up with video games and this was a way for us to bond.
 
I went to a conference where a prominent Implantologist advocated video games for dexterity and use of technology and she was a former anti-video game advocate. She said she had to apologize for all the years she said they had negative impact on the brain and served no purpose other than to view violence.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I wrote about video games in my manual dexterity essay... starting dental school this fall. Just focus more on the dexterity part than the video game part
 
If you have some achievements like... becoming a pro player and getting paid to play video games, or won a tournament, then I would bring it up.

Otherwise, just put it on your "hobby" section.

In my head, most male applicants these days are video game players. So don't waste a precious space in your resume with something that's not special. You know what I mean?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

P
Manual Dexterity
Replies
4
Views
2K
SV7855
SV7855
swimmer101
Manual Dexterity Question
Replies
10
Views
2K
Faefly
Faefly
V
Dental Assisting as Manual Dexterity
Replies
1
Views
1K
kavitykween
K
J
Manual dexerity
Replies
6
Views
1K
toyotasupra
T
T00thFa1ry
Narrative list for manual dexterity
Replies
2
Views
8K
T00thFa1ry
T00thFa1ry
Top