Use of information and communication technology by medical students:a survey of VSS Medical College, Burla, India

Introduction New technology has brought significant changes in education (Bates, 2005). Medical education has also undergone profound changes due torecent technological advancements (Harden, 2002; Davis and Harden, 2001). Medical schools, particularly in the developed countries, have invested heavily in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT),not only to deliver education, but also to improve the quality of services that health professionals provide. Developing countries like India, where a scarcity of human resources in the health sector is a serious problem, can be a particular beneficiary of ICT-mediated education. Lack of educational institutions and qualified medical educators, poor distribution of facilities and poor access to the latest educational infrastructure are some of the issues to be addressed to improve the quality of medical education in developing countries. Advanced technology can address at least some of these problems. In fact, international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have acknowledged ICT as a useful tool to address education in health care sector in developing countries (WHO, 2005; Drury, 2005). United Nations Millennium Development Goals have articulated the significance of the use of ICT to address education and health issues (UN Millennium Development Goal, 2004).

Aims and Objectives The primary purpose of the present study is to investigate use of the state-of-the-art ICT in library of VSS Medical College, Burla. Inaddition, the study also aims to achieve the following objectives: * To explore the role of ICT in medical education and research; * To assess the use of electronic information resources by medicalstudents; * To identify and analyze specific factors that have hindered the use of electronic information resources by medical students; * To examine students' attitudes towards use of ICT in medical education and research; * To suggest measures for improvement of existing ICT-based resources and services in the medical library. Methodology The study used a questionnaire, with 32 questions spread over eight sections: (A) General profile of the respondent, (B) Attitude towards ICT, (C) Use of ICT, (D) ICT enabled teaching and research, (E) ICT training provision, (F) ICT skill of medical students,(G) Access toMedical Information on the Web, and (H) Constraints. To facilitate quantification and analysis of data, mainly close-ended questions wereused along with checklists and rating scales. To capture a response and to have fewer missing responses, options such as "no opinion", "don't know", and "don't know about it" are also included. A random sample of 150 (25%) of 600 medical students of VSS Medical College, Burla, was selected and questionnaires were distributed among them. Of those, 128 (85.33%) questionnaires were returned completed. Literature Review Asqari and Haywood (1997) assessed the attitude of Edinburgh University medical students toward computers and found that 86 percent agreed that computer skills will be beneficial to them in their future career, and that 62 percent wanted a structured course in computer use. Another study by Nurjahan and others (2002) was undertaken to obtain a self-reported assessment of the use of ICT by medical students atthe International Medical University, Malaysia. The survey revealed that 27 students (5.7 percemt) did not use a computer either in the university or at home. Most students surveyed reported adequate skillsat word processing (55 percent), email (78 percent) and web searching (67 percent). The study suggested formal inclusion of ICT instruction in the teaching of undergraduate medicine, to enhance medical students' ability to acquire, appraise, and use information to solve clinical and other problems. Veer Surendra Sai (VSS) Medical College and the Library In Orissa, there are three government medical colleges situated inthree different regions of the state. In the east, the "Sriram Chandra Bhanja (SCB)" Medical College at Cuttack started in 1944; in the south, "Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati (MKCG)" Medical College at Berhampur started in 1962, and in the west the "Veer Surendra Sai" (VSS) Medical College at Burla began in July 1959. The VSS Medical College primarily serves the health care needs of western Orissa. At present, the college has 7,020 square feet, with 27 departments and 635 MBBS students, 137 post-graduate students, 220 doctors, and 200 other employees. This college is affiliated with Sambalpur University and isfinanced by the State Government. It also receives occasional grantsfrom WHO for its overall development. Data Analysis and Discussion Attitude of Medical Students towards ICT The survey found that a majority of respondents believe that ICT is essential for medical education. In order to assess the attitude ofmedical students towards ICT, they were asked whether they felt thatmedical education would not be effective without ICT. Nearly 80 percent of respondents agree that medical education and research will not be effective unless ICT tools and techniques are used in the educational process. Further, it is evident from this data that the students realize that ICT tools and techniques should becomea part of medical education. Need for ICT enabled library facilities Students were asked to put forth their recommendations about ICT facilities. Three quarters of respondents recommend a library website for remote access to library resources and services. More than 60 percent recommend e-resources and an equal number recommend networking with other libraries and information system. Use of ICT by Medical students The state of computer use by students is not encouraging. Nearly half use a computer at least monthly, with another quarter weekly and only about 20 percent using a computer daily. Nearly 10 percent neveruse a computer, which is quite discouraging. Although the students consider computers an integral part of medical education, their overall use is infrequent. Use of Internet More than 80 percent of respondents use the Internet. The table summarizes the purpose and frequency. Most students use the Internet weekly to send and receive email and chat with friends online. More than one quarter, however, use the Internet for accessing reading material recommended by their teachers. [GRAPHIC 4 OMITTED] ICT Literacy of Medical Students Of the 128 students who responded to this survey, nearly all are at least "somewhat confident" about using the mouse and keyboard. Surprisingly, there are still 3 (2.34%) medical students who are not confident either in handling the mouse or the keyboard of a computer. About one third of the students are not confident in using any word processing program. Nearly all are confident about web searching, and a majority are able to deal with computerized patient records. Constraints in use of ICT More than half of respondents stated that application of ICT not present in their course syllabus, with a nearly equal number who saw alack of support from IT staff. Half indicated lack of time, and significant numbers also mentioned the lack of computer labs and a campusnetwork, with a smaller number mentioning a lack of availability of e-resources in the library.