Computer Education in Emergency Medicine Residency Programs

Abstract

Objective - To determine if and how recent innovations in computer technology have affected the access and usage of computers by emergency medicine residents. To evaluate the status of resident computer training as compared to a previous survey reported and as outlined in the Core Curriculum. Methods - Questionnaires were mailed to the 113 residency program directors listed in the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) home page. Topics queried included current availability of computers, the existence of computer education programs, the status of Internet related activities as well as resident exposure to and actual usage of computers. Results - The response rate was 65% (73/113). The average resident to computer ratio is 6.5:1. While 100% of the programs have computers available for resident use, only 48% offer any kind of formal computer education and only 41% indicate they have an assigned computer educator. Most programs offer some kind of access to the Internet (79%). Software availability is as follows: wordprocessing (100%), spreadsheets (99%), graphics (96%), literature search programs (96%), databases (88%), statistics (86%), communications (85%) and Internet/commercial network (77%). Resident exposure and usage roughly parallels the availability of software. Conclusion - Computer knowledge in today’s world is a necessity whether one practices medicine as a clinician, researcher, educator, or administrator. Although computers are available for resident use in virtually all programs surveyed, less than half offer formal computer education as recommended by the Core Curriculum. Formal recommendations need to be developed regarding the design and implementation of a computer education program . Keywords - Computer Literacy, Medical Education, Curriculum Development