Medical students’ perception of the learning environment at King Saud University Medical College, Saudi Arabia, using DREEM Inventory

Abstract

BackgroundThe students’ perception of the learning environment is an important aspect for evaluation and improvement of the educational program. The College of Medicine at King Saud University (KSU) reformed its curriculum in 2009 from a traditional to a system-oriented hybrid curriculum.ObjectiveThe objective of the present study was to determine the perception of the second batch (reformed curriculum) of medical graduates about the educational environment at the College of Medicine, KSU, using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) scale.MethodsThe fifth year medical students were asked to evaluate the educational program after graduation in May 2014. The questionnaire was distributed to the graduate students electronically. The DREEM questionnaire consisted of 50 items based on Likert’s scale; and five domains, namely, students’ perceptions of learning, perceptions of teachers, academic self-perceptions, perceptions of atmosphere, and social self-perceptions. Data were analyzed using SPSS.ResultsA total of 62 students participated in the study. The score for students’ perception of learning among medical students ranged from 2.93 to 3.64 (overall mean score: 40.17). The score for students’ perception of teachers ranged from 2.85 to 4.01 (overall mean score: 33.35). The score for students’ academic self-perceptions ranged from 3.15 to 4.06 (overall mean score: 28.4). The score for students’ perception of atmosphere ranged from 2.27 to 3.91 (overall mean score: 41.32). The score for students’ social self-perceptions ranged from 2.85 to 4.33 (overall mean score: 24.33). The general perceptions of the students in all five sub-scales were positive.ConclusionThe overall student’s perception about the educational environment was satisfactory. This study was important to evaluate the students’ perception of the learning environment among medical graduates of the reformed curriculum and provided guidance on areas of improvement in the curriculum.

<p>Medical students’ perceptions of their learning environment during clinical years at Chitwan Medical College in Nepal</p>

“…The overall mean DREEM score in this study was found to be 122/200 which is higher than the medical schools in India (2008), Iran (2010), Saudi Arabia (2013), and Kuwait (2015) but lower than studies conducted in government-run medical institute in Nepal (2001), Pakistan (2011), India (2017), and Saudi Arabia (2017) 13–20…”

Medical students’ perception of their educational environment during foundation course

“…Similar findings were also reported by the students in the studies done in India, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. 4,16,17 The individual item score between 2 and 3 for 20 items indicated the aspects of the environment that needed to be enhanced while planning the curriculum for the future generations. Only one item, that was, the item no.…”

The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure: A prospective comparative study of undergraduate medical students’ and interns’ perceptions in Oman

“…According to standard interpretations of DREEM subscale scores, the mean score for the perceptions of learning subscale in the current study was deemed Other studies from the Middle Eastern region have addressed students' perceptions of the educational environment at various medical colleges [ Table 4]. 11,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] In general, the scores of medical schools in previous studies from 2004-2010 were much lower compared to those reported from more recent studies. 11,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] This observation suggests that significant improvements have been made to the learning environments of medical schools in the region.…”

“…Literature review of recent studies using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure tool at institutions in the Middle East11,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] …”