Perception testing in surgical pathology

A test predictive of mature pathologic expertise could be of great value in the selection of individuals entering the field. Some individuals may have an aptitude superior to others to discriminate images based on the discovery of distinctive image features. This may enhance their ability to draw pathologic conclusions from clinical images and may favorably affect their performance as pathologists. A form of the Facial Recognition Test was administered to pathology residents and faculty to test this hypothesis. Facial recognition results correlated well with resident performance measured by overall faculty ratings, but only marginally with performance measured by scores on "direct recognition" slides of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists' in-service pathology exams. These preliminary results indicate that testing of visual discrimination may be predictive of resident performance in pathology. A test of this type could eventually be useful in selection and self selection of resident candidates and in development of remedial training for residents experiencing difficulty in learning morphologic interpretation.