A survey of opinion among different occupational groups toward selection of medical students.

A survey was conducted by postal questionnaire among 1200 residents of metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia, to determine public opinion on various policies and procedures concerned with the selection of medical students. There were 712 respondents, reflecting closely the metropolitan population in age and sex distribution but having a significant bias toward higher status occupational groups. Responses were examined separately for three broad occupational groups and were found to be quite consistent across each group. A clear majority preference was indicated for selecting medical students not only from those completing secondary school but including others with different educational and occupational backgrounds, and for using a variety of selection procedures in addition to examination results.