Medical students’ perception of their educational environment during foundation course

Background: Learning environment is how students perceive the climate of an institution. The strength and weakness of learning environment should be identified to help change, adjust and manage training programs with objectives for improving learning quality. Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) is a validated tool designed to measure educational environment specifically for medical schools and other health profession institutions. This tool has been used in 20 countries, including Nepal. The aim of this study was to determine the perception of medical students of Foundation Course toward their learning environment using this tool.Methods: The study was conducted among the medical students attending Foundation Course in School of Medicine at Patan Academy of Health Sciences in Nepal using the DREEM tool.Results: Total mean of DREEM score was 150.51 and that of subscales for Students' Perception of Learning (SPL), Students' Perception of Teachers (SPT), Students' Academic Self-Perception (SASP), Students' Perception of Atmosphere (SPOA) and Students' Social Self-Perception (SSSP) were 36.96/48, 34.01/44, 23.96/32, 36.03/48 and 19.55/28 respectively. In item scores, students scored more than 3 for 29 items, between 2 and 3 for 20 items and only 1 item received less than 2 score indicating an issue requiring attention on overemphasis of factual learning during the course.Conclusions: Students have a positive perception about their educational environment. Their perception is a valuable resource for institutional curriculum planners to make appropriate changes to enhance student learning. It is important to get feedbacks from students on how they are experiencing their learning environment.

Análisis del ambiente educacional en escuela de odontología chilena / Assessment of the educational environment in a Chilean dental school

Objetivo Evaluar la precepción del ambiente educativo por parte de los estudiantes de odontología en 2 períodos críticos de su formación: preclínico y clínico, transición desde la sala de clase a ambientes clínicos y comienzo de la atención de pacientes. Método Doscientos setenta y cinco estudiantes de odontología de la Universidad San Sebastián fueron sometidos al cuestionario DREEM en su versión en español el año 2012, en 3.er, 4.° y 5.° año (117 estudiantes en preclínico y 158 en clínica). Se calcularon los resultados individuales y los promedios globales e individuales de cada dominio. El test de Chi cuadrado fue realizado para analizar las diferencias entre los datos nominales. El coeficiente alfa de Cronbach fue utilizado para evaluar la consistencia interna de las subescalas del cuestionario. Valores de p menores a 0,05 fueron considerados significativos. Resultados La puntuación media fue de 120,42 en el área preclínica y de 121,83 a 110,38 en el área clínica. Con respecto al proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje, los estudiantes tienen una buena percepción del ambiente. Los dominios de percepción de los profesores y autopercepción social obtuvieron los puntajes más bajos. Discusión La percepción de los estudiantes de preclínico es diferente a los del área clínica. Estos últimos sienten que la participación en el aula disminuye, lo que puede deberse al mayor número de horas clínicas versus horas teóricas. La identificación de áreas positivas y negativas permite orientar acciones para mejorar el ambiente educativo para los estudiantes de la facultad.

Objective To evaluate the educational environment in dental school perceived by students at two critical transitional periods in their education: Preclinical and clinical (transition from the classroom to clinical environments and commencement of patient care) Method A total of 275 dental students (third, fourth and fifth year) of the San Sebastian University Dental School were asked to complete the Spanish adaptation of the DREEM Questionnaire in 2012 in (117 were preclinical and 158 were clinical students). The individual results were calculated, as well as both the overall and individual domain scores. The chi-squared test was used to analyse differences in nominal data. Cronbach's alpha was employed to assess the internal consistency of the subscales of the instrument. A P<.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The mean score was 120.42 in the preclinical area, and 121.83 to 110.38 in the clinical area. As regards the learning and teaching process, students have a good perception of the environment. The domains of perception of Teachers and Social Self-Perception obtain the lowest scores. Discussion The perceptions of the students in the preclinical area differ from those of the clinical area, with the latter feeling that participation in the classroom decreases. This may be due to the fact that the number of practice hours are much greater than theory hours, leading to a considerable reduction in the amount of classroom time at the expense of an increase in clinical hours. The identified positive and negative areas will help to focus actions to improve the educational environment for dentistry students.

Students' perception of the educational environment of medical schools in Korea: findings from a nationwide survey / 한국의학교육

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine students' perception of the educational environment of medical schools in Korea. METHODS: A total of 9,096 of 12,035 students (75.6%) responded to our questionnaire. This study was conducted at the end of the 2013 academic year using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) at 40 medical schools in Korea. DREEM comprises five domains: students' perceptions of learning (SPL); students' perceptions of teachers (SPT); students' academic self-perceptions; students' perceptions of atmosphere; and students' social self-perception. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, and one-way analysis of variance. RESULTS: The overall mean DREEM score was 113.97 (of 200), and the scores for the 40 medical schools ranged from 100.24 to 134.32. The overall mean and domains scores of the DREEM differed significantly between educational systems, grades, genders, and academic achievement levels. Graduate-level medical students had higher scores for the DREEM and its five domains than undergraduate medical students. The scores were lowest in second-year students (mean, 111.80). Male students' perceptions were significantly higher than those of female students except for SPL and SPT. High academic achievers' perceptions were also greater versus low academic achievers. CONCLUSION: Students' perceptions of their educational environment are positive in Korea. The learning environment should be evaluated by curriculum planners and administrators of medical schools to improve its quality.

Evaluation of the Learning Environment for Diploma in Family Medicine with the Dundee Ready Education Environment (DREEM) Inventory / 보건의료교육평가

The primary healthcare system is at a turning point in Saudi Arabia. However, the sustainability of family medicine as the core element of that system is increasingly being called into question because of lack of family physicians. In keeping view this problem; a postgraduate diploma program in family medicine has started in 2008. A validated measure of educational environment i.e., Dundee Ready Education Environment (DREEM) questionnaire consisting of 50 questions having five domains of perception was administered to all 13 trainees of the diploma course at the completion of the program to check their perception about learning evironment. The trainees comprised of 4 males (40%) and 6 females (60%). The overall score showed more positive than negative side (147/200). There is no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the mean scores of five different domains of perception. The subclasses of five domains showed that teaching perceived as positive by 50%, moving towards right direction by 80%, feeling more positive by 50%, positive attitude by 80% and the 70% scored the course as not too bad. The overall high score and positive attitude towards the course assures the better teaching environment. However, there are areas to improve and it requires continuous evaluation.