Assessment of Medical Students’ Perception Regarding Educational Environment at Different Phases of Medical Education in a Tertiary Centre Medical College using Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) Questionnaire

The educational environment in a medical school is a crucial component in a student's learning and is also important in the development of personality, behavior, and work ethics. The objective of the study was to assess the perception of the educational environment among medical students. An observational cross-sectional study conducted on second, fourth, sixth, eighth semesters and interns. Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) inventory was used as study tool which contains 50 items and is subdivided into five domain subscales: students’ perceptions of learning (SPoL); students’ perceptions of teachers (SPoT); students’ academic self-perception (SASP); students’ perceptions of the atmosphere (SPoA); and students' social self-perception (SSSP). Data were presented as Mean+/-SD and analyzed using descriptive statistics. A total of 449 undergraduates of age group 18 to 25 years participated, the majority were males (72.6%) and studied from private (82%) and English medium schools (75%) without any additional qualifications (99.6%). The mean total DREEM score±SD was 130.85±19.24 and there was a significant difference between males and females (p=0.029). The mean total subscale scores (SD) were: SPoL=33.37(5.89), SPoT=27.95(3.98), SASP=21.41(4.47), SPoA=30.15(5.78) and SSSP=17.97(3.20). The mean total DREEM score ± SD of the fourth semester (134.45±19.02) was highest and the eighth semester (125.71±21.55) was the lowest and there was a significant difference between scores of various semesters(p=0.016). On analyzing the total DREEM score, 61 students had scores in 'excellent', 363 in 'more positive than negative', and 25 in the 'plenty of problems’ category. The educational environment perceived by the medical undergraduates more positive than negative. The study findings would help modify the learning environment and curriculum.