Information technology and information literacy for first year health sciences students in South Africa: Matching early and professional needs

The need to develop skills in Information Technology and Information Literacy for a career in the Health Sciences is not in dispute. More debated are the most appropriate ways of assessing existing skills, addressing training needs and incorporating IT/IL learning, and at what stage skills development should begin to be most effective. This article reports on three years of experience with a training model in the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, in providing IT/IL skills to a diverse group of students in South Africa. It provides an evaluation of the activities and discusses the possible advantages of the methodology. This training model is based on measuring rather than assuming existing computer skills in incoming students; it is informed by curriculum demands and focuses on early intervention and close integration into mainstream undergraduate courses.