HOW IS THE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE MEDICAL TEACHING INSTITUTIONS?: A PERCEPTION BY MEDICAL STUDENTS OF DR. DY PATIL MEDICAL COLLEGE, PUNE

Dr. Parul Sharma, MD (Community Medicine)*, Dr. Kajal Srivastava (MD, Community Medicine), Dr. Shaili Vyas, MD (Community Medicine) and Dr. JS. Bhawalkar

ABSTRACT

Background: Educational environment is crucial for success of the curriculum. The student‟s feedback is pivotal for the success of the educational climate. Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire is the most specific tool for investigation of the educational environment. Thus, this study was undertaken to evaluate the students‟ perception of their learning environment using DREEM Questionnaire. Methods: A cross-sectional Study was carried out among Final year Part I MBBS students using Simple Random Sampling. DREEM is a 50 item inventory, consisting of 5 subscales having maximum score of 200. The global score interprets as; 0–50 = very poor; 51–100 = many problems; 101–150 = more positive than negative; 151–200= excellent.The DREEM questionnaires were given to students followed by a brief explanation of the study, including anonymity. The scores were interpreted using McAleer and Roff‟s guide. Results: The overall response rate for 73 students was 100%.The mean score for perception of learning and academic skills was 23 (6.133) and 24 (8.108) respectively depicting plenty of problems. The mean scores for Perception of Teachers and Atmosphere was 23 (6.318) and 18 (5.317) showing more positive than negative aspect.The mean scores of 15 (23.77) in social self-perception domain reflected a more positive aspect . The composite score for majority (59%) of the students was between 101-150 depicting more positive than negative aspect. Conclusion: Special Students grievance cells should be established. MET training with refresher trainings of all the teachers should be carried out. Innovative teaching methods should be implemented.

Keywords: DREEMS, Educational Environment, learning environment, perception.