Training left-handed cardiothoracic surgeons in a right-handed world: Perspectives, experiences, and educational opportunities

Operative environments, typically designed for right-handed (RH) surgeons, create educational challenges for both left-handed (LH) cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) trainees and surgical educators. This study aimed to characterize experiences of CTS faculty with training learners relative to concordance of hand dominance, serving as a needs assessment for curricular development. A 15-item survey was developed and distributed to CTS teaching faculty, assessing experiences with educating LH trainees. Responses were analyzed using χ 2 , Fisher exact test, and independent t tests. In total, 91 cardiothoracic surgeons completed the survey (15.4% response rate) with 17 (18.7%) LH and 74 (81.3%) RH respondents. Although 10 (58.8%) LH surgeons predominantly operate with their left hands, all (100%) RH surgeons operate primarily with their right hands ( P < .01). LH surgeons reported less difficulty in training opposite-handed individuals than RH surgeons on a Likert scale of 1 to 10, with median scores of 4 versus 5.5, respectively ( P = .03). Most respondents believe that LH trainees face bias in CTS (LH, n = 13/17, 76.5%; RH, n = 39/74, 52.7%, P = .05). However, 6 (35.3%) LH surgeons believed that LH trainees have an advantage of learning to ambidextrously operate, whereas 31 (41.9%, P = .01) RH surgeons felt that LH CTS trainees may require additional mentorship. The overwhelming majority of RH surgeons (n = 62/74, 83.8%) expressed interest in resources for training opposite-handed individuals, compared with 9 (52.9%, P < .01) LH surgeons. Creating resources to help RH surgeons in teaching LH individuals and elucidating LH CTS trainee perspectives may help mitigate challenges impeding their education.