Computing for Medicine: Can We Prepare Medical Students for the Future?

Abstract

Problem Technology can transform health care; future physicians need to keep pace to ensure optimal patient care. Because future doctors are poorly prepared in computer literacy, the authors designed a computer programming certificate course. This Innovation Report describes the course and findings from a qualitative study to understand the ways it prepares medical students to use computing science and technology in medicine. Approach The 14-month Computing for Medicine certificate course (C4M, offered beginning in February 2016), University of Toronto, is comprised of hands-on workshops to introduce programming accompanied by homework exercises, seminars by computer science experts on the application of programming to medicine, and coding projects. Using purposive and maximal variation sampling, 17 students who completed the course were interviewed from April–May 2017. Thematic analysis was performed using an iterative constant comparison approach. Outcomes Participants praised the C4M as an opportunity to achieve computer literacy—including language, syntax, and fundamental computational ideas (and their application to medicine)—and acquire or strengthen algorithmic and logical thinking skills for approaching problems. They highlighted that the course illustrated linkages between computer science and medicine. Participants acknowledged a sometimes-existent chasm between producers and users of technology in medicine, recommending two-way communication between the disciplines when developing technology for use in medicine. Next Steps We recommend that medical schools consider computer literacy an essential skill to foster future collaborative computing partnerships for improved technology use by physicians and optimal patient care. We encourage further evaluation of future iterations of the C4M and similar courses.