Has robotic surgery finally found robotic surgeons? The confluence of technology and the perfect user

Objective: Our study aims to identify traits of a surgeon that might determine facility with robotic surgery.Methods: Several robotics lab sessions were organised for 129 medical students, where they were introduced to robotics surgery. Their demographic and self-reported data regarding their experience was collected.Results: Our data suggests that traits commonly believed to facilitate robotic surgery skill acquisition, such as technological proficiency and playing musical instruments do not confer an advantage in robotic surgery.Conclusion: One compelling explanation is the ubiquitous familiarity with technology that characterises this generation of surgeons. This ability to easily interface with digital technology to perform tasks is a more significant contributor to facility in robotic surgery than any trait of dexterity. These findings are interesting and inform the need for further investigation into the relationship between technology, the acquisition of dexterity, and ultimately the evolution of how surgeons are trained.