Trends to access internet among medical students of a government medical college in West Bengal.

The use of computer and information technology is on an escalation. The internet, one of the key developments in this field, provides instant access to latest medical information. The present study was conducted (i) to estimate the extent and purpose of internet usage among undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) medical students, (ii) to identify factors that encourage the students to use internet for medical information, (iii) to assess the need for incorporating computer education in medical curriculum. A prospective, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted on 150 students of Burdwan Medical College and Hospital between June 2009 and December 2009. Majority of the students accessed internet from their home PC (42% UGs and 52% PGs).Common search engines browsed commonly by both UGs and PGs include Google and yahoo. Regarding principles of telemedicine and evidence-based medicine, majority of the PGs are well versed while UGs are not (p-value 0.0001). Almost all students agreed to incorporate computer education in medical curriculum. Primary source of medical information was textbook for UGs (62%) and internet for the PGs (48%). Majority of UGs (48%) used internet as a ready source of information thus saving time while PGs (68%) primarily relied on internet for recent advances in their disciplines. The primary purposes of internet use are educational for both UGs and PGs. The data obtained indicates that majority of the medical students participating in the present study embrace and use internet to access medical information. It also justifies the need to incorporate internet and associated information technology into existing medical curriculum.