Abstract
An anaesthetist recently remarked that orthopaedic surgeons are ‘twice as strong as an ox but half as smart’. We set out to ascertain if this had any evidence basis by conducting an observational study.
We compared 36 male orthopaedic surgeons to 40 male anaesthetists across 3 hospitals to ascertain if there was a significant difference between the two groups in terms of Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and strength. We tested the IQ of each doctor using an official MENSA IQ test. We assessed the strength as reflected by the grip strength using a hand-grip dynamometer. Un-paired t-tests were used to assess statistical significance.
Orthopaedic surgeons had a significantly greater mean grip strength 47.25Kg (SD=6.95) compared to anaesthetists 43.83Kg (SD=7.57) (p=0.04). The mean IQ of orthopaedic surgeons was also significantly greater at 105.19 (SD=10.85) than anaesthetists at 98.38 (SD=14.45) (p=0.02). Furthermore, the IQ of orthopaedic surgeons seems to increase with increasing age and seniority (an IQ jump of 5 IQ points from Registrar to Consultant).
We have concluded that this proverb should be revised to orthopaedic surgeons are as strong as an ox and twice as smart, although further studies are advocated to ascertain the IQ of Ox.
