[Selection of medical students: a process influenced by history and culture]

Every medical school in the world has a procedure for selecting students for medical studies, intended to identify those who are capable of becoming doctors, according to specific expectations. The means of selection, however, vary significantly from one school to another and from one country to another. France has chosen to undertake this selection at the end of the first year of university studies. This method is costly in that it requires medical schools to organize a whole year of curriculum for thousands of students, fewer than 30% of whom will be chosen for further medical studies. It is also counterproductive for students, a significant proportion of whom are not admitted despite above-average results on their examinations.

This article examines the historical and cultural factors that have led to the current organization. Our study is based on an analysis of government archives dealing with medical education reforms from 1905-1970.

We argue that the format of the current selection process is linked to ideas of freedom of access for students and of equal opportunity for admission to medical studies.

We conclude that for any reform to be acceptable it must take into account the historical and cultural elements (for the most part stemming from the French Revolution) that form the basis of the current system.