Letter

Selecting medical students

Beware of self selection and self fulfilling prophecy

BMJ 2008; 336 doi: 10.1136/bmj.39563.591481.80 (Published 8 May 2008)
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;336:1034.2

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  1. Peter D Singleton, principal research fellow
  1. 1University College, London N19 5LW
  1. peter.singleton{at}chi-group.com

    Because the BMJ is mostly read by clinicians, we should be aware of the risk of self selection.1 Just as companies can develop an internal culture, whereby only similar personality types are recruited, so the same happens with doctors. We select only those with high academic results, we train them to be problem focused, and, not …

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