According to the results of the third annual Future Physicians of America survey, conducted by Epocrates Inc.(San Mateo, Calif.), medical students are seven times more likely to call on an electronic resource than a colleague or teacher with a medical question, and strongly support the use of EMRs in practice.
Some of the key survey findings:
· Students feel the financial crunch – While work-life balance and being a good physician remain the top concerns for medical students, worries over paying off student loans increased by 40 percent (2007–2008).
· Technology adoption grows –often at the encouragement of their medical school.
· Preparing for practice – Nearly 70 percent of medical students do not feel adequately prepared for managing or owning a practice in the future. However, they give schools’ clinical training programs top marks, showing improvements since 2006.
· Assessing the healthcare system – Forty percent of survey respondents, increasing from 29 percent in 2006, give the U.S. healthcare system an unsatisfactory grade (D or F). Students cited insurance coverage issues as the system’s main challenge in 2007.
· Students get personal – Students go online for more than clinical answers, with 75 percent spending time on popular networking sites – primarily Facebook – for a reprieve and social interaction.
