Go Ad-Free
logoThe People's Perspective on Medicine

Surgeons Are Less Sharp After a Night on the Town

Surgeons need to be at the top of their game whenever they cut into a patient. That’s why a responsible physician would never drink alcohol during the day they perform surgery. But what about the night before?
A new study demonstrates that surgeons perform more poorly after drinking the night before. In one phase of the study, the subjects were final-year medical students in Ireland who had no experience with the surgical simulator used for training. In the other phase, the subjects were six experienced surgeons at Yale. Both groups were tested before their evening of imbibing as well as the following day. The medical student group was also randomized to either consume alcohol with dinner or not to consume alcohol. Those who had consumed alcohol had a significant decrease in their surgical ability as measured by the virtual reality surgical training machine; this was also seen among the expert surgeons. The bottom line is, you don’t want your surgeon celebrating the night before your operation.
[Archives of Surgery, April, 2011]

Rate this article
star-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-empty
0- 0 ratings
About the Author
Terry Graedon, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and co-host of The People’s Pharmacy radio show, co-author of The People’s Pharmacy syndicated newspaper columns and numerous books, and co-founder of The People’s Pharmacy website. Terry taught in the Duke University School of Nursing and was an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology. She is a Fellow of the Society of Applied Anthropology. Terry is one of the country's leading authorities on the science behind folk remedies..
Tired of the ads on our website?

Now you can browse our website completely ad-free for just $5 / month. Stay up to date on breaking health news and support our work without the distraction of advertisements.

Browse our website ad-free
Join over 150,000 Subscribers at The People's Pharmacy

We're empowering you to make wise decisions about your own health, by providing you with essential health information about both medical and alternative treatment options.