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Kate Chan

Playing a musical instrument helps medical students perform surgical tasks 10 per cent faster and more skilfully, according to a study by the University of Hong Kong (HKU).
The results showed that students with musical experience completed surgical tasks in an average time of 223.5 seconds, compared with 249.3 seconds for those without, making them nearly 26 seconds faster.
The experience of Sien Gurr, a sixth-year medical student at HKU who started learning the violin at the age of four and later picked up the guitar, aligned with the study’s results.
“A lot of this precision in training as a child with finger placement, coordination and the stability that requires, I think that gave me an advantage when I started training these surgical techniques,” she said.
The 24-year-old student added that her experience in music – both in training and performance – had given her the ability to manage stress well during surgery, make good decisions and perform at a high level.
HKU researchers evaluated 203 final-year medical students in 2024 who had no prior formal surgical training to determine whether musical dexterity led to better surgical performance.
Among the participants in the study, 126 played a musical instrument, while 77 had no musical background.
Students were required to undergo surgical skills training through live tutor demonstrations and online instructional videos. They were then assessed four weeks later on fundamental techniques by making an incision and placing three sutures – a standard benchmark required for medical students before completing their surgical modules.
The practical assessment was evaluated by surgical educators based on an objective scoring system, without prior knowledge of the students’ musical backgrounds.
Michael Co Tiong-hong, an assistant dean of pedagogy and assessment at HKU’s medical school, said the 10 per cent difference in completion time was statistically “significant”.
The results also showed that students with musical experience scored higher on the surgical skills assessment.
Non-musicians scored an average of 7.79 out of 10, whereas students with musical experience achieved a mean score of 8.28, representing an improvement of 0.49 points, or 6 per cent.
“We observed a positive correlation,” Co said. “We can infer that playing musical instruments and performing surgery have many things in common.”
He said the commonalities included hand-eye coordination, finger dexterity and non-technical traits, such as stress tolerance, concentration and patience.
“These are skills or characteristics developed through music practice that can help future surgeons learn surgical skills,” Co said.

The study also examined the depth of the students’ musical engagement: 80.2 per cent played the keyboard, 54 per cent played more than one instrument, 84.1 per cent had achieved Grade 7 or above in music exams, and 44.4 per cent reported actively practising their instruments.
However, researchers noted that these factors did not show statistically significant differences in surgical performance.
Co said previous studies on whether playing video games or musical instruments affected surgical performance had often yielded ambiguous results and focused on fully trained surgeons.
“By conducting this study on medical students prior to any formal surgical exposure, we were able to objectively demonstrate the research,” he said.


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Playing an instrument helps medical students perform surgical tasks better: study

Professor Michael Co (left), assistant dean of pedagogy and assessment at HKU’s medical school, and Sien Gurr, a final-year medical student who plays the violin and guitar. Photo: Dickson Lee

Professor Michael Co (left), assistant dean of pedagogy and assessment at HKU’s medical school, and Sien Gurr, a final-year medical student who took part in the study. Photo: Dickson Lee

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HKU study of 203 final-year medical students shows those with musical experience completed surgical tasks 10 per cent faster and more skilfully


HKU study of 203 final-year medical students shows those with musical experience completed surgical tasks 10 per cent faster and more skilfully.


Playing an instrument helps medical students perform surgical tasks better: study

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}HKU study of 203 final-year medical students shows those with musical experience completed surgical tasks 10 per cent faster and more skilfully

HKU study of 203 final-year medical students shows those with musical experience completed surgical tasks 10 per cent faster and more skilfully