Table 3: Use <strong>of</strong> <strong><strong>in</strong>ternet</strong> <strong>among</strong> study populationInternet Use1 st & 2 nd yearMedicalStudentsPre-f<strong>in</strong>al &F<strong>in</strong>al YearMedicalStudentsPostGraduate/InternsChi-SquareP - valueN= 200 N = 200 N = 1007. Internet communication tools <strong>use</strong>dmost by you:(a) E-mail 122 (61.0%) 153 (76.5%) 87 (87.0%)(b) Instant messag<strong>in</strong>g 45 (22.5%) 22 (11.0%) 6 (6.0%)(c) Web boards 11 (5.5%) 11 (5.5%) 6 (6.0%)(d) Chat rooms 18 (9.0%) 11 (5.5%) --------(e) News groups 4 (2.0%) 3 (1.5%) 1 (1.0%)8. How much time do you spend with<strong>computer</strong> <strong>and</strong> go<strong>in</strong>g onl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> aweek?(a) 7 hrs 37 (18.5%) 12 (6.0%) 17 (17.0%)9. How much time do you spend <strong>in</strong>us<strong>in</strong>g <strong><strong>in</strong>ternet</strong> for socialcommunication (e-mail/ chatt<strong>in</strong>g) <strong>in</strong> aweek?(a) 1-2 hrs 108 (54.0%) 131 (65.5%) 68 (68.0%)(b) 2-3 hrs 48 (24.0%) 47 (23.5%) 18 (18.0%)(c) > 3 hrs 44 (22.0%) 22 (11.0%) 14 (14.0%)32.224 P = 0.00118.314 P = 0.00112.097 P = 0.01Table 4: Year or study vs. commonly assessed sitesSitesYear <strong>of</strong> study Google Yahoo Pubmed <strong>and</strong>other journalsitesOthers(Orkut, Rediff,Indiatimes.cometc)No. % No. % No. % No. %1 st year <strong>medical</strong> <strong>students</strong> 66 66 13 13 4 4 17 172 nd year <strong>medical</strong> <strong>students</strong> 57 57 16 16 14 14 13 13Pre-f<strong>in</strong>al year <strong>medical</strong>59 59 7 7 24 24 10 10<strong>students</strong>F<strong>in</strong>al year <strong>medical</strong> <strong>students</strong> 69 69 6 6 10 10 15 15Postgraduates/<strong>in</strong>terns 50 50 8 8 33 33 9 9Chi-square = 45.962, df = 12, p value = 0.0001South East Asian Journal <strong>of</strong> Medical EducationVol. 2 no 2, 2008- 23 -
DiscussionComputer ownershipAll the participants were found to <strong>use</strong> <strong>computer</strong>sfor vary<strong>in</strong>g purposes. Among them 79% 1 st <strong>and</strong>2 nd year <strong>medical</strong> <strong>students</strong> had their own<strong>computer</strong>, which is less than <strong>among</strong> college<strong>students</strong> <strong>of</strong> America (85%)(Jones, 2002) butmore than the 48.9% <strong>of</strong> first year <strong>medical</strong> <strong>and</strong>dental <strong>students</strong> <strong>of</strong> Ludhiana, India. (Arora,2003). The reason for higher proportion <strong>of</strong><strong>students</strong> possess<strong>in</strong>g <strong>computer</strong>s <strong>in</strong> our studymight be due to affordability as our study wascarried out <strong>in</strong> private <strong>medical</strong> colleges.Purpose <strong>of</strong> <strong>computer</strong> <strong>use</strong>In the study, we found that 69.5% <strong>of</strong> 1 st <strong>and</strong> 2 ndyear <strong>medical</strong> <strong>students</strong> <strong>use</strong> <strong>computer</strong>s forenterta<strong>in</strong>ment; whereas the majority <strong>of</strong>postgraduates/<strong>in</strong>terns <strong>use</strong>d it for general<strong>in</strong>formation, thesis <strong>and</strong> research work. A studyconducted <strong>in</strong> Jammu, India (Sharma et al. 2006)revealed that 52% undergraduates <strong>use</strong>d<strong>computer</strong>s for enterta<strong>in</strong>ment <strong>and</strong> 80%postgraduates <strong>use</strong>d it for thesis <strong>and</strong> researchwork. The association between year <strong>of</strong> study<strong>and</strong> purpose <strong>of</strong> <strong>computer</strong> <strong>use</strong> was found to bestatistically significant. The <strong>use</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>computer</strong>s forenterta<strong>in</strong>ment is decreas<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> <strong>use</strong> for general<strong>in</strong>formation <strong>and</strong> thesis <strong>and</strong> research is<strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g from the first year to subsequentyears. The reason for this is perhaps beca<strong>use</strong><strong>medical</strong> <strong>students</strong> <strong>in</strong> their f<strong>in</strong>al year do smallresearch projects <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong> the postgraduatetudies, thesis/research component ism<strong>and</strong>atory.Place <strong>and</strong> <strong>computer</strong> <strong>use</strong>In this study, we found that a majority (62%) <strong>of</strong>1 st <strong>and</strong> 2 nd year <strong>medical</strong> <strong>students</strong> <strong>use</strong> <strong>computer</strong>sat home or hostel, while only 13% <strong>use</strong> it <strong>in</strong> cybercafes; whereas, <strong>in</strong> a study conducted atLudhiana, India (Arora, 2003) 48.9% <strong>students</strong>were found to <strong>use</strong> <strong>computer</strong>s at home or hostels<strong>and</strong> similar percentage 48.9% <strong>use</strong>d it <strong>in</strong> cybercafes. This difference may be beca<strong>use</strong> <strong>of</strong>affordability <strong>of</strong> the <strong>students</strong> as this study wascarried out <strong>in</strong> private <strong>medical</strong> colleges.Preferred medium for gett<strong>in</strong>g required<strong>in</strong>formationThe preferred medium for gett<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>formation<strong>among</strong> both undergraduates <strong>and</strong> postgraduates<strong>in</strong> the present study was the <strong><strong>in</strong>ternet</strong> (42%)followed by textbooks (24%). This <strong>in</strong>dicates thatthe <strong>use</strong> <strong>of</strong> the <strong><strong>in</strong>ternet</strong> is <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g for gett<strong>in</strong>grequired <strong>in</strong>formation. These f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs are quitedifferent from the study conducted <strong>in</strong> Jammu,India (Sharma et al. 2006), which revealed that75% undergraduates preferred textbooks forgett<strong>in</strong>g required <strong>in</strong>formation. The differencebetween the f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>of</strong> these studies may bedue to the <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g access to <strong>computer</strong>s<strong>among</strong> undergraduates as many <strong>in</strong>stitutions areprovid<strong>in</strong>g <strong>computer</strong>s to undergraduates. Thereason for this is better <strong>in</strong>frastructure <strong>in</strong> private<strong>medical</strong> schools <strong>in</strong> comparison with that <strong>of</strong>government run <strong>medical</strong> schools, as <strong>in</strong> private<strong>medical</strong> schools the <strong>students</strong> have to pay for thefacilities.Internet accessIt was seen that the majority <strong>of</strong> 1 st <strong>and</strong> 2 nd year<strong>medical</strong> <strong>students</strong> (82%) first started us<strong>in</strong>g theInternet at home before arriv<strong>in</strong>g at college. In astudy conducted <strong>in</strong> America (Jones, 2002) foundthat about 49% <strong>students</strong> first began us<strong>in</strong>g theInternet <strong>in</strong> college, while 47% <strong>students</strong> firststarted us<strong>in</strong>g it at home before arriv<strong>in</strong>g atcollege. This difference may be due to<strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g access to the <strong><strong>in</strong>ternet</strong> <strong>in</strong> India dur<strong>in</strong>gthe last few years.Internet <strong>use</strong>We found that the majority <strong>of</strong> <strong>students</strong> <strong>use</strong> the<strong><strong>in</strong>ternet</strong> for <strong>in</strong>formation <strong>of</strong> recent advances <strong>in</strong>medic<strong>in</strong>e. A majority <strong>of</strong> 1 st <strong>and</strong> 2 nd year <strong>medical</strong><strong>students</strong> were found to <strong>use</strong> the <strong><strong>in</strong>ternet</strong> forsocial communication (50.5%) <strong>and</strong> enterta<strong>in</strong>ment(27%). These figures are slightly higher than thef<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>of</strong> the study conducted <strong>in</strong> America(Jones, 2002) where 42% college <strong>students</strong> werefound to <strong>use</strong> the Internet primarily tocommunicate socially <strong>and</strong> about 10% forenterta<strong>in</strong>ment. In the study only 9.5% 1 st <strong>and</strong> 2 ndyear <strong>medical</strong> <strong>students</strong> were found to <strong>use</strong> the<strong><strong>in</strong>ternet</strong> to engage <strong>in</strong> work for classes. Dur<strong>in</strong>gsubsequent years <strong>of</strong> study the <strong>use</strong> <strong>of</strong> the<strong><strong>in</strong>ternet</strong> for this purpose is <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g with 21%<strong>among</strong> pre f<strong>in</strong>al <strong>and</strong> f<strong>in</strong>al year <strong>medical</strong> <strong>students</strong><strong>and</strong> 19% <strong>among</strong> postgraduates/<strong>in</strong>terns. Thismay be beca<strong>use</strong> as <strong>students</strong> progress tosubsequent years the work load <strong>in</strong>creases <strong>and</strong>they can not f<strong>in</strong>d time for enterta<strong>in</strong>ment.Commonly accessed sitesIn our study, we found that PubMed <strong>and</strong> otherjournal sites are accessed by only 4% first year<strong>medical</strong> <strong>students</strong>. Dur<strong>in</strong>g subsequent years <strong>of</strong>study, the <strong>use</strong> for this purpose is <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong>about 33% postgraduates/ <strong>in</strong>terns commonlyaccessed PubMed <strong>and</strong> other journal sites. Thisis beca<strong>use</strong> the first year <strong>students</strong> are unawareabout research publications <strong>and</strong> mostly get therequired <strong>in</strong>formation from textbooks <strong>and</strong>research is the lowest priority <strong>among</strong> 1 st year<strong>medical</strong> <strong>students</strong>. Use <strong>of</strong> the <strong><strong>in</strong>ternet</strong> is forenterta<strong>in</strong>ment purpose ma<strong>in</strong>ly by access<strong>in</strong>gsites like Google, Yahoo, Orkut, etc.Computer assisted teach<strong>in</strong>gIn this study, it was found that a large majority(92.5%) <strong>of</strong> 1 st <strong>and</strong> 2 nd year <strong>medical</strong> <strong>students</strong> <strong>and</strong>98% postgraduates/ <strong>in</strong>terns advocated that<strong>computer</strong> <strong>and</strong> the <strong><strong>in</strong>ternet</strong> <strong>use</strong> should beencouraged <strong>in</strong> teach<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>stitutions which iscomparable with the study done <strong>in</strong> Jammu,India (Sharma et al.,2006). Computer assistedteach<strong>in</strong>g is ga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g importance <strong>in</strong> the <strong>medical</strong>field as <strong>students</strong> can be shown variousprocedures, demonstrations, surgeries <strong>and</strong> als<strong>of</strong>or E- learn<strong>in</strong>g purposes.- 24 -South East Asian Journal <strong>of</strong> Medical EducationVol. 2 no 2, 2008
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