Social composition, selection criteria and recruitment logic of the medical elite in sergipe

Abstract

This articles analyses the criteria of professional selection and the recruitment logic of the medical elite from Sergipe, based on the exam of social properties of its members. Using the prosopographic method, we present the sociographic changes, longitudinal variations, and credentials of the physicians who occupied the positions and the highest positions in this professional space and whose careers were considered successful by their peers. One of the main findings is that the changes in the composition of the medical elite and their dynamics of renewal were observed, especially since the 1940s, and represent a crucial moment for doctors' progressive removal from political activity and acute investment in the market of private health services. These disruptive movements expanded the scope of professional practice, leading to the strengthening of instances of representation and the enhancement of professionally based networks for access to elite status.