Pattern of computer and internet use among medical students in ...

Internet and social lifeIn the study, we found that only 6% pre-final andfinal year medical students spend more thanseven hours with computers and going online ina week and a majority of postgraduates/ interns(68%) spend only 1-2 hours using the internetfor social communication (E-mail/Chatting) in aweek which suggests that students becomebusier in their studies/clinical work as theyprogress to subsequent years.Internet communication toolsIt was found e-mail was the most commonlyused internet communication tool. A studyconducted in America (Jones, 2002) found that62% students used E-mail and about 29% useinstant messaging as an internet communicationtool. In a Nigerian study (Ajuwan, 2003) 73.4%of medical students surveyed reported using e-mail. In this study it is shown that the use of e-mail is increasing as students progress tosubsequent years. (61% among 1 st and 2 nd yearmedical students increasing to 87% amongpostgraduates/interns). However, the use ofinstant messaging was shown to decrease insubsequent years of study, (22.5% among 1 stand 2 nd year medical students and only 6%among postgraduates/interns). This may bebecause students become busier and moreserious about their studies and don’t prioritizemuch time for instant messaging.ConclusionsThe use of the computer and internet is rapidlybecoming a key component of medicaleducation in many parts of the world. In thisstudy on medical students in Mangalore, India asignificant relationship was seen between theyear of study and the purpose of computer andinternet use. As students progress tosubsequent years, the use of computer forentertainment decreased and use for generalinformation and thesis/ research workincreased. Computer assisted teaching shouldbe encouraged in all medical colleges.AcknowledgementsWe profusely thank all the medical students whoparticipated in the study, for their meaningfulcontribution towards the study. The authorsacknowledge Indian Council of MedicalResearch New Delhi (ICMR–STS 2007) &Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, India.ReferencesAjuwon, G.A (2003) Computer and internet use by firstyear clinical and nursing students in a Nigerianteaching hospital, BMC Medical Informatics andDecision Making, 3, pp. 10Arora, R. (2003) Computer and InformationTechnology Skills of First Year Medical and DentalStudents at CMC Ludhiana, Health Administrator,17(1), pp. 54 – 58.Jones, S (2002) The Internet Goes to College, Internet& American life Sep 15 [available fromhttp://www.pewinternet.org/ ]Mony, P.K., George, K.C. & Chacko, N. (2004)Computer Use among Postgraduates of a MedicalCollege in Southern India, National Medical Journal ofIndia, May-June; 17(3), pp. 175-176.Romanov, K. & Aarnio, M. (2006) A Survey of the Useof Electronic Scientific Information Resources amongMedical and Dental Students, BMC MedicalEducation, 6, pp. 28.Sharma, R., Verma, U., Sawhney, V., Arora, S. &Kapoor, V. (2006) Trend of Internet Use amongMedical Students, JK Science, Vol.8 No.2.South East Asian Journal of Medical EducationVol. 2 no 2, 2008- 25 -