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Background: Computer-aided learning is accepted by students as a learning resource, but the views of the teaching community are largely unknown. Purpose: To document clinicians' experience with computers and to record their attitudes toward computer usage in clinical practice and student education. Methods: Questionnaire mailed out to all clinicians, including interns and residents, fellows, and attending physicians in 3 major teaching hospitals in South Australia, with a total of 646 clinical staff. Results: Replies were received from 246 staff. Eighty percent of clinicians had at least 2 years of experience with computers and used computers for at least 2 hr each week. Despite this, there was an obvious lack of conviction among clinicians that computer-aided learning was of use in student education and assessment. This may reflect their lack of experience with this medium as an educational tool. Conclusions: If computer-aided learning is to make any significant impact on medical student education, it must be carefully and objectively evaluated, and its benefit must be clearly demonstrated to clinical teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the place of computer-aided learning in a basic science course in the undergraduate medical curriculum at the University of Adelaide. Methods A software program was written which would allow students to study the anatomy and physiology of the liver and biliary tree in three different styles. Identical content was produced, matched for each style (problem-based, didactic and free text response) and students randomly allocated to one of four groups (three computer and one control). Students were tested before and after access to the program. Results Ninety second-year students completed the study. Those students who had access to the material in the problem-based and free text response styles did no better in the post-study test than the controls, whilst the group who had studied the didactically presented computer material performed significantly better than the other three groups. All three computer groups accessed the material on a similar number of occasions, but the group who had access to the free text entry program spent significantly less time on computer study. Conclusions If computer materials are to be provided as a learning resource for the basic medical sciences, provision must be made for the style of teaching of the course and the style of learning of the students attending that course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the development of a computer-based learning package aimed at expanding students' knowledge base, as well as improving data-handling abilities and clinical problem-solving skills. Evaluation of the program by monitoring of its use by students and canvassing of users' opinions; Measurement of the effectiveness as a learning tool compared to tutorials on the same material.

Evaluates the place of the computer in the assessment of clinical skills of junior medical students in Adelaide, South Australia. History taking and physical examination skills of the students; Correlation between the performance of students at the non-computer history taking stations, the examination stations and the overall performance; Scores of the students on the computer-based tasks and in the observed stations.