Hands train the brain—what is the role of hand tremor and anxiety in undergraduate microsurgical skills?

INTRODUCTION: Physiological hand tremor occurs naturally, due to oscillations of the upper extremities. Tremor can be exacerbated by stress and anxiety, interfering with fine motor tasks and potentially impact on surgical performance, particularly in microsurgery. We investigated the link between tremor, anxiety and performance in a neurosurgical module as part of an international surgical course. METHODS: Essential Skills in the Management of Surgical Cases (ESMSC) course recruits medical students from European Union (EU) medical schools. Students are asked to suture the dura mater in an ex vivo swine model, of which the first suture completed was assessed. Questionnaires were distributed before and after the module, eliciting tremor risk factors, self-perception of tremor and anxiety. Johnson O’Connor dexterity pad was used to objectively measure dexterity. Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS) was used to assess skills-based performance. Anxiety was assessed using the Westside Test Anxiety Scale (WTAS). Tremor was evaluated by four qualified neurosurgeons. RESULTS: Forty delegates participated in the study. Overall performance decreased with greater subjective perception of anxiety (p = 0.032, rho = − 0.392). Although increasing scores for tremor at rest and overall WTAS score were associated with decreased performance, this was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Tremor at rest did not affect dexterity (p = 0.876, rho = − 0.027). CONCLUSIONS: Physiological tremor did not affect student performance and microsurgical dexterity in a simulation-based environment. Self-perception of anxiety affected performance in this module, suggesting that more confident students perform better in a simulated neurosurgical setting.