title: Clinical psychomotor skills among left and right handed medical students: are the left-handed medical students left out?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is a growing perception that the left handed (LH) medical students are facing difficulties while performing the clinical tasks that involve psychomotor skill, although the evidence is very limited and diverse. The present study aimed to evaluate the clinical psychomotor skills among Right-handed (RH) and left-handed (LH) medical students.
  
  
  METHODS
  For this study, 54 (27 left handed and 27 right handed) first year medical students were selected. They were trained for different clinical psychomotor skills including suturing, laparoscopy, intravenous cannulation and urinary catheterization under the supervision of certified instructors. All students were evaluated for psychomotor skills by different instructors. The comparative performance of the students was measured by using a global rating scale, each selected criteria was allotted 5-points score with the total score of 25.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no significant differences in the performance of psychomotor skills among LH and RH medical students. The global rating score obtained by medical students in suturing techniques was: LH 15.89 ± 2.88, RH 16.15 ± 2.75 (p = 0.737), cannulation techniques LH 20.44 ± 2.81, RH 20.70 ± 2.56 (p = 0.725), urinary catheterization LH 4.33 ± 0.96 RH 4.11 ± 1.05 (p = 0.421). For laparoscopic skills total peg transfer time was shorter among LH medical students compared to RH medical students (LH 129.85 ± 80.87 s vs RH 135.52 ± 104.81 s) (p = 0.825). However, both RH and LH students completed their procedure within the stipulated time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among LH and RH medical students no significant difference was observed in performing the common surgical psychomotor skills. Surgical skills for LH or RH might not be a result of innate dexterity but rather the academic environment in which they are trained and assessed. Early laterality-related mentoring in medical schools as well as during the clinical residency might reduce the inconveniences faced by the left-handed medical personnel.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery and Department of Medical Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. snassar@ksu.edu.sa.|Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery (37) and Department of Medical Education, College of Medicine, King Saud University, PO Box 7805, Riyadh, 11472, Saudi Arabia. snassar@ksu.edu.sa.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alnassar
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Aljoharah Nasser
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Alrashoudi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mody
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alaqeel
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Hala
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alotaibi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Alanoud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alkahel
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery and Department of Medical Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Waseem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hajjar
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ghadeer
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Al-Shaikh
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdulaziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alsaif
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Shafiul
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haque
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Sultan Ayoub
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Meo
mesh_terms: D002404:Catheterization; D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013536:Suture Techniques; D014546:Urinary Catheterization; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Clinical psychomotor skills left-handed; Right handed