Assessment of the undergraduate educational environment in College of Medicine, Taibah University, AL-Madinah ALMunawarah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

摘要

The educational environment is manifested as the ''ethos'' or ''climate'' that affects all aspects of learning within an educational setting [1]. Many attempts has been made to define and measure the characteristics of effective learning environments using questionnaires, including some specifically designed for medical environments. The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) has been used in many countries [2-3] including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and was used in this study. Here we aim to assess the undergraduate educational environment and to compare the perceptions of the educational environment of pre-clinical and clinical stage using DREEM questionnaire [1]. Method;The DREEM questionnaire was distributed on 541 [277 male (43.83 % ) and 264 female (56.17 % )] medical students (pre clinical--clinical phase) who participated in this study during the academic year 2007/2008. Results; 70.5 % of the participants [167 male (60.3 % ) and 214 (81 % ) female] completed the questionnaire . The mean score of the students was 109.09 ±17.74 (according to guide interpreting the overall score; 101-150 is More Positive than Negative). Furthermore; academic self perception 19.11±4.269, perception of atmosphere 24.30±5.23, social self perception 16.65±3.30, perception of learning 25.50±5.40 and finally perception of course organizers 23.37±5.25. the results also show significant (p<0.05)positive correction (using Pearson's test) between student's grade and gender, and age with their perception of learning and perception of atmosphere, respectively. Further statistical analysis (using independent t-test) showed that there was a significant difference between pre-clinical and clinical phases (P=0.001). Conclusion; the students in the clinical years scored higher satisfaction with the learning environment than their colleagues in the preclinical years.