Department of Emergency Medicine, Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada; Department of Surgery, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.
Anat Sci Educ. 2013 Nov-Dec;6(6):368-75. doi: 10.1002/ase.1360. Epub 2013 Apr 2.
Sex differences favoring males in spatial abilities have been known by cognitive psychologists for more than half a century. Spatial abilities have been related to three-dimensional anatomy knowledge and the performance in technical skills. The issue of sex differences in spatial abilities has not been addressed formally in the medical field. The objective of this study was to test an a priori hypothesis of sex differences in spatial abilities in a group of medical graduates entering their residency programs over a five-year period. A cohort of 214 medical graduates entering their specialist residency training programs was enrolled in a prospective study. Spatial abilities were measured with a redrawn Vandenberg and Kuse Mental Rotations Tests in two (MRTA) and three (MRTC) dimensions. Sex differences favoring males were identified in 131 (61.2%) female and 83 (38.8%) male medical graduates with the median (Q1, Q3) MRTA score [12 (8, 14) vs. 15 (12, 18), respectively; P < 0.0001] and MRTC score [7 (5, 9) vs. 9 (7, 12), respectively; P < 0.0001]. Sex differences in spatial abilities favoring males were demonstrated in the field of medical education, in a group of medical graduates entering their residency programs in a five-year experiment. Caution should be exerted in applying our group finding to individuals because a particular female may have higher spatial abilities and a particular male may have lower spatial abilities.
性别的空间能力优势在认知心理学家中已经存在了半个多世纪。空间能力与三维解剖知识和技术技能的表现有关。在医学领域，尚未正式解决空间能力的性别差异问题。本研究的目的是在一个五年期间进入住院医师培训计划的一组医学毕业生中测试空间能力存在性别差异的先验假设。 一个由 214 名进入专科住院医师培训计划的医学毕业生组成的队列参加了前瞻性研究。使用重新绘制的 Vandenberg 和 Kuse 心理旋转测试（MRTA）和三维（MRTC）分别测量空间能力。在 131 名女性（61.2%）和 83 名男性（38.8%）医学毕业生中发现了有利于男性的性别差异，中位数（Q1，Q3）MRTA 评分[12（8，14）比 15（12，18），分别; P <0.0001]和 MRTC 评分[7（5，9）比 9（7，12），分别; P <0.0001]。在医学教育领域，在一个五年实验中，进入住院医师培训计划的一组医学毕业生中，男性的空间能力存在性别优势。在将我们的群体发现应用于个体时应谨慎，因为特定女性可能具有更高的空间能力，而特定男性可能具有较低的空间能力。
