title: Medical student selection and society: Lessons we learned from sociological theories.
abstract: The aim of this study was to show the interaction between the society, applicants and medical schools in terms of medical student selection. In this study, the trends to implement social factors in the selection process were highlighted. These social factors were explored through functionalism and conflict theories, each focusing on different categories of social factors. While functionalist theorists pay attention to diversity in the selection process, conflict theorists highlight the importance of socio-economic class. Although both theories believe in sorting, their different views are reflected in their sorting strategies. Both theories emphasize the importance of the person-society relationship in motivation to enter university. Furthermore, the impacts of social goals on the selection policies are derived from both theories. Theories in the sociology of education offer an approach to student selection that acknowledges and supports complexity, plurality of approaches and innovative means of selection. Medical student selection does not solely focus on the individual assessment and qualification, but it focuses on a social and collective process, which includes all the influences and interactions between the medical schools and the society. Sociological perspective of medical student selection proposes a model that envelops the individual and the society. In this model, the selection methods should meet the criteria of merit at the individual level, while the selection policies should aim at the society goals at the institutional level.
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. yaghmaeim@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Minoo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yaghmaei
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, School of Medical Education Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. shramayazdani@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Shahram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yazdani
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, School of Medical Education Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. soleiman.Ahmady@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Soleiman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahmady
keywords: Medical Student; Medical Student Selection; Medical education; Society