Impact of the information age on residency training: communication, access to public information, and clinical care

Access to technology in practice helps physicians manage information, communicate, and research topics; however, those in training receive almost no formal preparation for integrating web-based technologies into practice. One reason for this is that many faculty-aside from junior faculty or those in recent generations-did not grow up using Internet communication, may use it minimally, if at all, in their own practices, and may know little about its forms and varieties. This report presents a case to illustrate how these disparities may play out in the supervisory situation and makes suggestions about helping supervisors integrate technology-awareness into their teaching.