Related Experiment Videos
Clinicians and computers: friends or foes?
A Polyakov1, E Palmer, P G Devitt
1University of Adelaide Medical School, Adelaide, South Australia.
Teaching and Learning in Medicine
|March 7, 2001
Summary
Medical clinicians have computer experience but doubt the educational value of computer-aided learning (CAL) for students. Demonstrating CAL benefits is crucial for its adoption in medical education.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Health Informatics
Background:
- Student acceptance of computer-aided learning (CAL) is established.
- Clinician perspectives on CAL in medical education remain largely undocumented.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess clinicians' existing computer experience.
- To understand clinicians' attitudes towards using computers in practice and education.
Main Methods:
- A survey was distributed to 646 clinical staff across three South Australian teaching hospitals.
- The questionnaire targeted interns, residents, fellows, and attending physicians.
Main Results:
- 246 staff responded, with 80% having over two years of computer experience, using computers at least two hours weekly.
- A notable lack of clinician confidence in CAL's utility for student education and assessment was observed.
- This skepticism may stem from limited exposure to CAL as an educational tool.
Conclusions:
- Objective evaluation of CAL is necessary to demonstrate its benefits.
- Clear evidence of CAL's advantages is required to gain acceptance from clinical educators.
- For CAL to impact medical student education, its value must be proven to clinical teachers.