Using a decade of data on medical student computer literacy for strategic planning

Purpose: From 1991 through 2000, incoming medical students (M-Is) at the School of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University have been surveyed with a written questionnaire on their computer literacy. The survey''s purpose is to learn the students'' levels of knowledge, skill, and experience with computer technology to guide instructional services and facilities.Methodology: The questionnaire was administered during M-I orientation or mailed to students'' homes after matriculation. It evolved from sixteen questions in 1991 to twenty-three questions in 2000, with fifteen questions common to all.Results: The average survey response rate was 81% from an average of 177 students. Six major changes were introduced based on information collected from the surveys and advances in technology: production of CD-ROMs distributed to students containing required computer-based instructional programs, delivery of evaluation instruments to students via the Internet, modification of the lab to a mostly PC-based environment, development of an electronic curriculum Website, development of computerized examinations for medical students to prepare them for the computerized national board examinations, and initiation of a personal digital assistant (PDA) project for students to evaluate PDAs'' usefulness in clinical settings.Conclusion: The computer literacy survey provides a snapshot of students'' past and present use of technology and guidance for the development of services and facilities.     

ADOLESCENT LITERATURE: A MISREPRESENTATION OF YOUTH‐AGED RELATIONSHIPS

Young people need to understand and have meaningful relationships with the elderly. One of the ways that this understanding can be initiated and enhanced is for adolescents to read literature that presents them with realistic and believable youth‐aged relationships. However, a reading and analysis of some of the available, contemporary adolescent literature that depicts youth‐aged relationships reveals that the attitudes, actions, and feelings of the fictional characters do not represent those of the youth and the aged in today's society.