The traditional gift for a beginning medical student used to be a microscope. Today, a computer makes more sense. In fact, a growing number of medical students can't leave home without one. Many others are considering such a step.
Most medical schools encourage the use of computers in various ways.
Some require students to be computer literate when they are admitted or by the end of their first quarter. Stanford asks teachers to put course materials on the Web. And Internet use is so high at Johns Hopkins that it is considering becoming an Internet Service Provider. It's the World Wide Web that's driving this sudden interest in computers for students. For the past five years, Case Western Reserve has been giving medical students computers.