Information technology in medical education: a nationwide project on the opportunities of the new technology

Context The aim of the national 'IT Culture in Medical Education' project i n Finland is to enhance the opportunities new technology may provide for me dical education. The project focuses on attitudes towards information techn ology (IT) and on its current use among teachers and students. Method This survey was part of a Finnish nationwide project in medical educ ation. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire designed to gather i nformation about IT use in medical education, sent to teachers and students . The questions were 5-point Likert-type. The participants were medical tea chers (n = 196) and medical students (n = 392) at two medical schools. Results In both universities, it appeared that medical teachers and student s had a very positive attitude toward the advances in modern technology. In addition to the favourable attitudes, computer-related technology was also widely applied. Teachers, however, used information technology more in the ir research work than in teaching. Conclusions The results pose challenges to medical education and underline the importance of educational and psychological knowledge in combination wi th new technical skills.