Is there a role for the use of aviation assessment instruments in surgical training preparation? A feasibility study.
BACKGROUND
Selection for surgical residency programmes could potentially be improved through pretraining preparation, after assessment of surgical candidates' sensorimotor skills and personality traits. Existing aviation pilot selection instruments are available to test sensorimotor skills and personality traits. This study examined selected instruments to assess medical trainees' sensorimotor skills and personality traits.


METHODS
Aviation's validated computer-based Computerized Pilot Aptitude and Screening System (COMPASS) and Checklist Professional Profile (CPP) were applied to 166 final year medical students during a surgical clerkship between 2013 and 2015.


RESULTS
All trainees completed COMPASS and CPP within the prescribed 2 hours. Compared with an age-matched and gender-matched cohort of 165 pilot candidates, medical trainees scored significantly higher on eye-hand coordination (p<0.001), need for variation (p<0.001), empathy (p=0.006), helpfulness (p<0.001) and autonomy (p<0.001). Pilot candidates scored higher on eye-hand-foot coordination (p<0.001), spatial orientation (p<0.001), persuasiveness (p<0.001), stress tolerance (p<0.001), dominance (p<0.001), ambition (p<0.001) and resilience (p<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Final year medical trainees from one medical school were able to complete aviation's sensorimotor skills and personality traits selection instruments within the set time frame. They scored differently from aviation trainees on selected skills and personality traits. The applicability and utility of aviation instruments to presurgical training preparation remains to be tested.
Health Services Research, Rotterdam Ophthalmic Institute, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Aline C
AC
Stolk-Vos
Executive Board, Rotterdam Eye Hospital, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Marion H
MH
Heres
Institute for Aviation Psychology, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Jasper
J
Kesteloo
European Pilot Selection & Training, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Dick
D
Verburg
Executive Board, Rotterdam Eye Hospital, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Frans
F
Hiddema
Clinical Sciences, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.
Desiree A
DA
Lie
Medical Innovation & Care Transformation, KK Women's & Children's Hospital, SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre, Singapore, Singapore.|Institute Health Policy & Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands.|Health Services & Systems Research, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.
Dirk F
DF
de Korne
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001076:Aptitude; D001077:Aptitude Tests; D001359:Aviation; D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010551:Personality; D000070356:Pilots; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D065854:Spatial Navigation; D013337:Students, Medical; D055815:Young Adult
MEDICAL EDUCATION & TRAINING