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First-year family medicine residents' use of computers: knowledge, skills and attitudes
B H Rowe1, D T Ryan, S Therrien
1Northeastern Ontario Family Medicine Residency Program (NOFM), Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON.
Objective:
To identify the computer knowledge, skills and attitudes of first-year family medicine residents.
Design:
Cross-sectional survey of family medicine residents during the academic year 1993-94; sampling began in July 1993 and ended in October 1993.
Setting:
Canada.
Participants:
All 727 first-year family medicine residents, of whom 433 (60%) responded.
Outcome Measures:
Previous computer experience or training, current use, barriers to use, and comfort with and attitudes regarding computers.
Results:
There was no difference in age or sex between the respondents and all first-year family medicine residents in Canada. French-speaking respondents from Quebec were underrepresented (p < 0.001). Only 56 respondents (13%) felt extremely or very comfortable with computer use. The most commonly cited barriers to obtaining computer training were lack of time (243 respondents [56%]) and the high cost of computers (214 [49%]) but not lack of interest (69 [16%]). Most residents wanted more computer training (367 [85%]) and felt that computer training should be a mandatory component of family medicine training programs (308 [71%]).
Conclusions:
Computer knowledge and skills and comfort with computer use appear low among first-year family medicine residents in Canada, and barriers to acquisition of computer knowledge are impressive. Computer training should become an integral part of family medicine training in Canada, and user-friendly applicable computer systems are needed.