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Biomedical subjects

A W Profitt

Publications and source records attributed to A W Profitt.

3 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1989

Objective comparison of manual dexterity in physicians and surgeons.

Recent interest in the assessment of manual dexterity of surgical residency applicants prompted an investigation of psychomotor skills in surgeons and physicians. The Purdue Pegboard and Minnesota Manual Dexterity tests were given to 57 subjects. Analysis of the data revealed no significant difference in dexterity between medical and surgical residents, suggesting that medical students do not select specialty training programs because of the presence or absence of manual skills. The data also revealed that surgical staffmen performed substantially worse than those in the other groups on some of the tests, possibly because of an older average age. The authors conclude from their data that manual dexterity tests should not be used in assessing candidates for surgical residency training positions.

Aptitude Tests↗
PubMed1988

Expected contamination of the orthopedic surgeon's conjunctiva.

Likely contamination of a surgeon's conjunctiva by patients' body fluids is surprisingly frequent. Blood and fat are the most common agents but cellular implantation may occur. Possible contamination was documented in 37 of 60 orthopedic procedures. Power tools, hammering and the use of rongeurs are the main culprits in producing a forced spray most likely to cause contamination. Reduction of the hip at the time of replacement arthroplasty is often associated with propulsion of blood. Not a single case of possible contamination resulted from the pumping action of a severed vessel. Since orthopedic surgeons work in a high-risk environment, safety glasses are recommended to prevent contraction of viral diseases such as hepatitis B and acquired immune deficiency syndrome by way of the conjunctiva. The glasses will also protect the surgeon from bacterial and cellular conjunctival contamination, in addition to preventing physical damage secondary to propelled bone and cement.

Body Fluids↗