Medical Students' Perception about the Educational Environment in Western Maharashtra in Medical College using DREEM Scale

Introduction: Educational Environment (EE) has significant impact on teaching-learning, satisfaction, performance and academic progress of students. Feedback obtained through structured questionnaire designed for them can serve as tool for identifying and solving these EE related problems. Objective: To assess the perceptions of medical students concerning their educational environment (EE) using Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) scale. Materials and Methods: Study involved all three years medical students; surveyed with DREEM questionnaire consisted of 50 items based on the Likert ` s scale (scores from 0 to 200); and 5 domains namely students' perceptions of learning (SPL), perceptions of teachers (SPT), academic self-perceptions (SAP), perceptions of atmosphere (SPA) and social self-perceptions (SSP). Results: The overall total score on Likert's scale was 136 (interpretation: predominantly positive). The scores obtained in the different domains were 35.5 in SPL (interpretation: a more positive perception); 30.9 in SPT (interpretation: moving in the right direction); 21 in SAP (interpretation: feeling more in the positive side); 29.8 in SPA (interpretation: a more positive atmosphere); and 16.1 in SSP (interpretation: satisfactory. The DREEM score assigned by female students was significantly greater (p< 0.05) than male students. The second-year students were more positive in their perception of EE (p< 0.05). Conclusion: Overall, student's perception about EE was satisfactory. However, the item with score < 2 points i. e. authoritarian/strict teachers, factual, teacher-centred learning, inability to memorize all, poor support system for bored, tired or stressed students during their academic life were the problem areas identified need to be revisited and improvised to further improve learning experience.