SELF-REPORTED COMPUTER LITERACY OF MEDICAL-STUDENTS AND STAFF - GOOD FACILITIES ARE NOT ENOUGH

Computer skills are vital for medical practitioners of the future. A s urvey performed in a large university hospital indicated that 66% of m edical students and staff considered that they had low computer litera cy, a situation little changed by the provision of an electronic class room. The classroom provided easy access to educational programs, a su ite of software products and on-line resources. A second survey 6 mont hs later showed that the availability of these facilities made no impa ct on perceived computer literacy or experience, except the Internet w hich was widely demonstrated (an increase of over 300% was reported). This suggests that appropriate computer training may be necessary in f uture medical curricula.