Self-Assessment of Computer Literacy Competence Among Medical Undergraduates

Abstract

In Romanian high schools, Information and Communications Technology is a required subject. The field of study in high school will determine the curriculum, which might be theoretical (science or humanities), technical, vocational, or services and economics. Our goal was to examine how first-year students perceived their pre-university education-based knowledge and abilities in computer literacy. We created an original, anonymous, online questionnaire regarding the students' perception of general computer use skills, Internet browsing, online information search skills, digital communication skills, and the use of programs from the Microsoft Office package. Eligible participants were first-year students (academic year 2022-2023) in the Romanian section at the Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca. All eligible participants were invited to self-evaluate their computer literacy skills. Two hundred and twenty-one students participated. About 88.69% of respondents declared that they have good skills in general computer use, but only 57.47% understand basic computer terminology at an . Analyzing the statements about skills at the beginner-up-to-expert level: 95.93% have knowledge about using the Internet, 98.19% can use the keyboard well, 97.29% know how to use an e-mail, and 87.33% consider themselves suitable for computer-assisted training. The participants self-assessed their proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite, with the majority (97.74%) considering themselves beginner-up-to-expert level users in Word or PowerPoint. However, their proficiency in Excel was slightly lower, with only 89.59% claiming beginner-up-to-expert level. About half of the respondents understood basic computer terminology, even though most respondents said they had general computer skills. While most respondents have average-expert-level knowledge of PowerPoint, only about half are proficient in Excel.