Application of information and communication technologies in medical education.

The recognition that information and communication technologies should play an increasingly important role in medical education is a key to educating physicians in the 21(st) century. Computer use in medical education includes, Internet hypermedia/multimedia technologies, medical informatics, distance learning and telemedicine. Adaptation to the use of these technologies should ideally start from the elementary school level. Medical schools must introduce medical informatics courses very early in the medical curriculum. Teachers will need regular CME courses to prepare and update themselves with the changing circumstances. Our infrastructure must be prepared for the new developments with computer labs, basic skill labs, close circuit television facilities, virtual class rooms, smart class rooms, simulated teaching facilities, and distance teaching by tele-techniques. Our existing manpower including, doctors, nurses, technicians, librarians, and administration personal require hands-on training, while new recruitment will have to emphasize compulsory knowledge of and familiarity with information technology. This paper highlights these subjects in detail as a means to prepare us to meet the challenges of the 21(st) century.