Access, sources and value of new medical information: views of final year medical students at the University of Nairobi.

To evaluate final year medical students' access to new medical information. Cross-sectional survey of final year medical students at the University of Nairobi using anonymous, self-administered questionnaires. Questionnaires were distributed to 85% of a possible 343 students and returned by 44% (152). Half reported having accessed some form of new medical information within the previous 12 months, most commonly from books and the internet. Few students reported regular access; and specific, new journal articles were rarely accessed. Absence of internet facilities, slow internet speed and cost impeded access to literature; and current training seems rarely to encourage students to seek new information. Almost half the students had not accessed any new medical information in their final year in medical school. This means they are ill prepared for a career that may increasingly demand life-long, self-learning.