What do medical students know about computers?

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the computer knowledge and skills of medical students in the first, fourth and final years of the Monash University medical course.

Design: Questionnaire.

Setting: Undergraduate medical education.

Participants: All first, fourth and final year medical students in the Monash University medical course in 1991.

Results: The students in first year were found to have greater computer skills than those in sixth year. There were also significant differences between the sexes, particularly in sixth year, with male students having significantly greater computer skills than female students.

Conclusions: The perceived importance of computing in medicine was high among all students and there was enthusiasm for the development and inclusion of a course on medical computing in the undergraduate curriculum.