[How does aviation find the ideal pilot? Suitability testing: applicability to surgery? Methods for determining basic...

Pilot skills have a large influence on flight safety. A pilot needs certain basic abilities which cannot be trained. Specific tests are used to find out if someone has the required talents. A thorough selection process reduces the average pilot failure rate from about 30% to less than 3%. Studies proved that psychomotoric tests have a high prognostic validity. Modern surgery requires a high degree of spatial orientation and hand-eye-coordination. A specially developed test scenario could be used to predict career-success of a future surgeon.