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PubMedDate not supplied

The use of computers as cognitive tools to facilitate higher order thinking skills in nurse education.

Much of what has been written about computer use in nursing has been technocentric in nature. Nursing literature has focused on the intricacies of the technology, computer literacy, nurses' attitudes to computers and information systems, the implementation of these systems and, to a lesser degree, nursing information and its application in a computerized environment. Little, if any, attention has been given to the underlying cognitive processes required to use information technologies effectively. Can nursing stand accused of concentrating too heavily on the technology of information rather than on the cognitive processes involved in the acquisition, management, and use of information? This discussion will focus on the utilization of cognitive tools to facilitate the higher order thinking skills required for the effective use of information technologies. The concept of cognitive tools and cognitive residues will be defined. The role of these concepts within the broader context of nursing informatics will be illustrated using examples of how computer-based cognitive tools have been implemented in one undergraduate nursing program.

Cognition↗
PubMed1993

Introducing medical students to medical informatics.

Medical informatics (MI) has been introduced to medical students in several countries. Before outlining a course plan it was necessary to conduct a survey on students' computer literacy. A questionnaire was designed for students, focusing on knowledge and previous computer experience. The questions reproduced a similar questionnaire submitted to medical students from North Carolina University in Chapel Hill (NCU). From the results it is clear that although almost 80% of students used computers, less than 30% used general purpose applications, and utilization of computer-aided search of databases or use in the laboratory was exceptional. Men reported more computer experience than women in each area investigated by our questionnaire but this did not appear to be related to academic performance, age or course. Our main objectives when planning an MI course were to give students a general overview of the medical applications of computers and instruct them in the use of computers in future medical practice. As our medical school uses both Apple Macintosh and IBM compatibles, we decided to provide students with basic knowledge of both. The programme was structured with a mix of theoretico-practical lectures and personalized practical sessions in the computer laboratory. As well as providing a basic overview of medical informatics, the course and computer laboratory were intended to encourage other areas of medicine to incorporate the computer into their teaching programmes.

Computer Literacy↗
PubMed1997

Computer awareness among medical students: a survey.

The objective of the study was to assess the attitude of Edinburgh University medical students towards computers and to evaluate the effects of changes in the curriculum and intercalated BSc towards computer knowledge. During March to November 1995 a questionnaire was distributed in lectures, seminars and tutorials to all Edinburgh University medical students. Overall, 65% of students returned the questionnaire, divided equally between both genders. Only 2% of students had not used a computer in the previous year. The most frequent application used was E-mail and the most frequent site, the Greenfield suite micro lab, within the medical school. The average score for self-perceived computer knowledge on a scale of 0-10 was 4.19. This score was significantly higher for the students who own a computer and who have an intercalated BSc honours degree as well as the pre-clinical students compared to the clinical students. There is also a strong correlation between computer use and doing a second year special option module. With regards to attitude towards computers, 86% of students agreed that computer skills will be beneficial to them in their future career and 62% of all students wanted a structured course in computer use as part of the MB ChB course. There has been a general increase in computer literacy amongst the medical students in Edinburgh. This is specially so for the pre-clinical students who have had the brunt of the changes in the curriculum. The tendency for both the lower knowledge and use by the clinical students can, in part, be due to the accessibility of computers to these students.

Attitude to Computers↗
PubMed1987

Preparing allied health faculty to use and develop computer-assisted instruction.

Microcomputers can be powerful teaching tools if educators learn to develop effective computer-assisted instruction (CAI). This paper reports on an allied health faculty development project that incorporated hands-on workshops and guided individual instruction led by a specialist in the educational uses of microcomputers. Faculty participants gained basic computer literacy skills and learned to assess the salient characteristics of quality software. They also learned specialized skills for designing their own CAI packages. The positive change in participants' knowledge about and attitude toward microcomputers as instructional tools was measured both subjectively by the authors and by a participants' self-report questionnaire. This project can serve as a model for helping allied health educators become computer literate and gain the skills necessary to evaluate and author quality computer-assisted instruction.

Arkansas↗
PubMed1990

Computer use and education in radiology residency programs.

Computers play an increasingly important role in radiology education and research. We surveyed all U.S. residency programs to assess computer availability, education, and use by residents. Out of 210 questionnaires sent, 132 were returned (63% response). Areas of inquiry included computer equipment and software as well as resident use of facilities. Opinions were also solicited concerning the importance of computer literacy and education. Sixty-nine percent of the respondents have computer facilities (61% within the department). Predominant uses include scientific papers, slides/audiovisual presentations and resume preparation. Popular software includes word processing, spreadsheets, databases and graphics. Of those training programs with computers, 85% provided computer education, and most (70%) felt computer training was very important. Forty-seven percent expected their residents to have at least passing acquaintance with computers. However, in 60% of programs with computers, the computers are used by less than half the residents. Of those programs without a computer, 61% provided no computer training, and only 44% felt computer education was very important. A sizable minority of radiology residency programs are still without computer facilities. Those programs that have computers tend to place a greater emphasis on computer education and literacy for radiology residents. However, even in programs that have computers, it seems they are often underutilized by residents.

Computer User Training↗
PubMed1995

Surgical audit in private practice.

Surgical audit in private practice is not only simple to perform but is very rewarding. It is intellectually stimulating and inevitably improves outcome. Computer literacy is helpful though not essential.

Computer Literacy↗
PubMed1991

Trends in measures of computer experience and computer anxiety for students in three successive medical school classes.

Computer-related variables, including measures of computer anxiety and computer experience, were evaluated for three successive classes of matriculating medical students. Across the three classes, average computer anxiety measures declined and differences in the levels of computer anxiety for males and females diminished. Average measures of computer experience rose over time and were comparable for males and females, although there was a trend toward increasing divergence in the range and distribution of students' computer experience scores. Implications of these findings for addressing computer literacy in the medical curricula are discussed.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1987

Computer use in allied health programs.

This article presents a preliminary assessment of computer use in allied health programs. The findings of a survey among 60 allied health programs indicate that computer use in the classroom, in clinical education, and in simulation has increased. In preprofessional education, computers are used by less than 50% of the allied health programs. However, computers are used more in the professional phase for patient management, clinical simulations using branching and logic methods, physiological simulations, and therapeutic planning and management. Students in these programs are required to take three to six semester hours of computer literacy classes. In the classroom, computer-assisted instruction is used to provide remediation, reinforcement, enrichment, and test-taking drills in clinical and didactic learning. Students use microcomputers to gain application experience in health statistics, data bases, abstracting, and diagnosis-related group classifiers. Although progress has been made in computer use, greater efforts must be expended to ensure greater use of computer technology in the next decade in allied health disciplines. Recommendations for increased use of computer technology in allied health programs are provided.

Allied Health Personnel↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The impact of home computer use on children's activities and development.

The increasing amount of time children are spending on computers at home and school has raised questions about how the use of computer technology may make a difference in their lives--from helping with homework to causing depression to encouraging violent behavior. This article provides an overview of the limited research on the effects of home computer use on children's physical, cognitive, and social development. Initial research suggests, for example, that access to computers increases the total amount of time children spend in front of a television or computer screen at the expense of other activities, thereby putting them at risk for obesity. At the same time, cognitive research suggests that playing computer games can be an important building block to computer literacy because it enhances children's ability to read and visualize images in three-dimensional space and track multiple images simultaneously. The limited evidence available also indicates that home computer use is linked to slightly better academic performance. The research findings are more mixed, however, regarding the effects on children's social development. Although little evidence indicates that the moderate use of computers to play games has a negative impact on children's friendships and family relationships, recent survey data show that increased use of the Internet may be linked to increases in loneliness and depression. Of most concern are the findings that playing violent computer games may increase aggressiveness and desensitize a child to suffering, and that the use of computers may blur a child's ability to distinguish real life from simulation. The authors conclude that more systematic research is needed in these areas to help parents and policymakers maximize the positive effects and to minimize the negative effects of home computers in children's lives.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Development of a Smiling Touchscreen multimedia program for HRQoL assessment in subjects with varying levels of literacy.

OBJECTIVE: As low literacy affects the assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in several ways (e.g., subject eligibility and cost of administration), better approaches to HRQoL assessment in subjects with varying literacy levels are needed. METHODS: We developed a multimedia touchscreen program (the Smiling Touchscreen, ST) to administer HRQoL instruments to subjects with varying levels of Chinese language and computer literacy, using an iterative process where patients' input on design, clarity of instructions, and user-friendliness were repeatedly gathered and incorporated in development. The ST thus has several user-friendly features for low-literacy subjects (e.g., presentation of individual items using visual and auditory stimuli, voice-text synchronization, and visual analog scale with a touch and drag function), which we evaluated using qualitative and quantitative methods. RESULTS: The ST was well accepted by subjects (n = 66, 76% female, median [interquartile] age: 49.0 [40.0, 56.0]) with high (n = 43) or low (n = 23) literacy, 98% of whom found it easy or very easy to use, and 85% found the voice-text synchronization feature useful. In low-literacy subjects without computer experience (30%), none reported any difficulties using the ST. The median (interquartile) time spent to complete the ST (four Instruction and Practice screens, 24 questions, one visual analog scale) for high- and low-literacy groups was 13.9 (9.6, 23.9) and 23.2 (15.8, 26.5) minutes, respectively. Among subjects expressing a preference (n = 47), 21 (47%) favored the ST over interviewer- or self-administration. CONCLUSION: The ST is well accepted by subjects with varying literacy levels, including those without computer experience. It is thus a promising new approach for HRQoL assessment among subjects with varying literacy levels.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Nurse educators' acceptance of the computer in baccalaureate nursing programs.

Although several studies have investigated nurse educators' perceived knowledge of and acceptance of computer technology, none have incorporated objective indicators of knowledge or acceptance. This descriptive research study used standardized and investigator-developed tests to examine acceptance of the computer by randomly selected administrators and faculty in private baccalaureate nursing programs. Levels of computer literacy and attitudes were sufficiently positive to promote the awareness, interest, and evaluation stages of Roger's diffusion and adoption model. Responses were not sufficiently positive to promote the trial and adoption of computer technology for instructional and administrative activities. Recommended approaches to meeting this challenge included instruction related to computer software and educational applications and the use of consortial arrangements to share knowledge, computer hardware and software, and application experiences.

Attitude to Computers↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The marriage of medicine and computers.

Although computers, in one form or another have been around for several decades, they have only recently acquired the power, the simplicity of operation, and the cost-effectiveness to make their widespread application in health care a reality. But a reality it is, and no manager can be successful without a working understanding of how computers and information technology mesh with the information needs of health care delivery. Computer literacy is no longer a nice add-on--it is a basic weapon in every health care professional's armamentarium.

Attitude to Computers↗
PubMed1998

Computers in midwifery practice: a view from the labour ward.

Concern continues to exist about the lack of integration of research into clinical practice. One of the reasons which has been suggested for this, is that practitioners may either not know about, or understand, the research findings. The availability of a database which contains systematic reviews of research such as the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Database, should go some way to overcome such obstacles associated with the implementation of research into practice. As part of a national audit on Caesarean section, a computer with the Cochrane Database was installed in the labour ward of each consultant maternity unit in Scotland. The purpose of this study was to determine if midwives working in labour wards make use of this accessible source of research findings to inform their practice. Anecdotal evidence suggested that although midwives were keen to use the databases, they did not have the requisite computer skills to do so. This study examined the computer literacy of midwives and their perceived educational needs. A questionnaire was distributed to all labour ward midwives in 22 consultant maternity hospitals in Scotland (n = 850). This questionnaire considered issues such as the preparation of midwives to use computers, midwives' perceptions and use of computers and their perceived educational needs. The response rate was 74%. Following analysis of the questionnaire labour ward managers were interviewed by telephone to ascertain their views regarding the Cochrane Database and their perception of its effectiveness. The results highlighted that only 27% of midwives claimed to use the Cochrane Database on a regular basis. Overall midwives had a positive attitude towards information technology but claimed they did not have the requisite computer skills to use these tools. Managers agreed that there was a need for further instruction and support for midwives. The findings of this study have important implications for the future professional preparation and continuing education of midwives.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

A virtual classroom for undergraduate periodontology: a pilot study.

The Integrated Distributed Learning Environments or virtual classrooms constitute a new promising structure in education of health care personnel. A virtual classroom was developed aiming to teach periodontology to an international group of 28 dental students using a problem-based learning (PBL) approach. The course was web-based and included synchronous and asynchronous communication, on-line libraries and multimedia material. Students were organised in 4 independent groups and each group was appointed a tutor. The results of the study indicate that one of the most positive effects students experienced was competence in using the computer. They also rated highly the use of multimedia for learning of clinical procedures. It was found that web boards and email were too slow to allow group work in the virtual classroom. Real time communication programs were found to be superior for problem discussion and hypothesis formulation. However, email and the web board played a significant role during certain steps of the PBL method. The students expressed a positive attitude for the combined use of network-based learning and problem-based education. Our present experience suggests that distance learning should be organised with a mixture of different media, allowing communication of knowledge and skills between the resources and the students, as well as cooperation between the students. Computer literacy among teachers and students is limited and should be enhanced. Finally, personal contact between the resource persons and the students before the distant learning course commences helps the learning process.

Attitude↗
PubMed2002

Information-seeking patterns of dentists in Istanbul, Turkey.

The authors surveyed dentists in Istanbul, Turkey to determine the modes they were using to access current professional information. A questionnaire was sent to 379 privately practicing dentists. The response rate was 35 percent. Privately practicing dentists frequently preferred to use traditional methods, such as discussions with colleagues, textbooks, and the brochures of products, to obtain information. Textbooks were found to be the most helpful information retrieval method. The lack of time after work and the difficulties in traffic in Istanbul were cited as the leading barriers to accessing information. We conclude that Turkish dentists in private practice need to improve their computer literacy skills in order to benefit from the generous opportunities that technology offers them and also to overcome the problem of professional isolation in their lives.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Preparing our future physicians: integrating medical informatics into the undergraduate medical education curriculum.

This paper describes how two medical schools have integrated "medical informatics" into their undergraduate medical education programs with the aim of preparing their students for future practice. It describes the components or elements of the informatics programs, how learning opportunities have been integrated into the curricula, how the informatics programs have evolved, and future directions. The medical schools approached the task of introducing informatics in a parallel way. Following needs identification, similar topic areas, goals, and specific informatics learning objectives were developed. These were used as a basis for implementation and evaluation. In general, the topic areas selected are: computer literacy, communications, information retrieval and management, computer-aided learning, patient management, office practice management, and hospital information systems. Learning opportunities in informatics were integrated for the above goals, in accordance with how the curriculum was organized in each school. These opportunities, and the support activities provided will be described.

Alberta↗
PubMed1998

Survey of the information-seeking patterns of dental hygienists.

This descriptive study explored the methods that dental hygienists in northern British Columbia have utilized to access information. A self-administered questionnaire sent to 130 dental hygienists registered in that geographic experienced a response rate of 81.5 percent. The respondents preferred and utilized traditional information sources such as discussions with colleagues, journal articles, and mailings from professional associations and licensing bodies. The least utilized information sources were the indices to the literature and electronic information sources. Geographic isolation, lack of electronic information sources, and costs were identified as the top three barriers to information access. Dental hygienists may need to acquire or improve computer literacy skills while in school and through continuing education to enable them to use the newer methods of electronic information retrieval and communications because dental hygienists need to access a variety of information sources to provide quality care.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Medcast: evaluation of an intelligent pull technology to support the information needs of physicians.

This study reports the initial results of an evaluation of Medcast, a commercial medical information service that uses intelligent pull technology to deliver medical information to practicing physicians. Medical news, CME, and other information are transferred by modem nightly to the physician's computers where this information can be accessed at a convenient time. A survey was faxed to 195 subscribers to the system. A total of 73 (39%) responded. The results indicate that prior to implementation of the Medcast system, almost 40 percent of the respondents did not use their computers for professional activities because of time constraints, costs and computer literacy problems. After implementation of Medcast, almost 70 percent of the respondents used the system two or more hours per week. Ninety percent of the respondents felt that use of the system has enhanced their practice. These findings have important implications for future efforts to implement medical informatics applications to support the information needs of practicing physicians. Experience with intelligent pull technology that is relatively easy to use may be a good way to break down attitudes and barriers to the use of computer systems to support clinical practice and may prepare physicians for a wider use of the Internet to support their future information needs.

Alabama↗