Abstract
The present cross sectional study was conducted at Government Medical College Haldwani among undergraduate students to assess their use of computer/ laptops/ smart phones, knowledge and attitude towards internet use. The study was carried out in the Government Medical College, Haldwani, Nainital, among undergraduate medical students. The questionnaire included questions about demographic data, computer/laptop/smart phones and internet use. The questionnaire was collected immediately after completion to minimize interpersonal communication. Obtained result was calculated, tabulated and analyzed. 88.17% of the students were using computer/laptop. The purposes stated for using internet was to get general information (30.11%), learn about important facts (26.22%) and others to entertain and pass times. Most of them had computer and internet in their hostel (41.39%) equal number used it in cyber cafe (41.39%) and rest even in college or friend’s computer. 88.14% had knowledge about telemedicine and computer assisted learning. 37.63% students internet was the preferred medium for information and 19.35% preferred textbooks for advanced information. 73.54% students own a application smart phone/ hand-held computing devices. Out of which 58.125% students use medical related application on their computing devices/smart phones. 37.29 % and 22.5% students occasionally and often use smart phones for searching drug reference/ medical formulation. We also conducted computer assisted simulation of animal experiment exercise in experimental pharmacology 48.125% students find it very helpful and interesting.
It is urgently required to introduce short refresher courses in computer application and internet use both among Undergraduate and Post Graduate students. Students should be trained to extract valuable information from internet and authenticity of information by correlating with existing evidences.
KEY WORDS – Medical education, laptops, smart phones.