Medical students perception of their medical environment-expected versus actual perceptions — a cross sectional study

Objective: To compare the expected (perceptions of their environment at the beginning of their 1st year) versus actual perceptions (perceptions at the end of 1st year) of 1st year students at Dow University of Health Sciences. Methods: The expected perceptions of the students were recorded at the beginning of their 1st year (n=411) of medical education when they entered the medical school using Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM). DREEM is a validated and self-administered inventory which focuses on learning, teachers, self-confidence and academic as well as social environment. The actual perceptions were then recorded at the end of their first year (n=405) of education when they had received adequate exposure of their environment. The 2 records were then compared. Results: The total expected DREEM score was 118/200 and the total actual DREEM score was 113/200. The expected domain (Students perceptions of learning, students perceptions of teachers, students academic self-perceptions, students perceptions of atmosphere, and students social self-perceptions) scores were 28/48, 26/44, 20/32, 28/48, and 16/28. The actual domain scores were 27/48, 23/44, 19/32, 27/48, 16/28. However both the actual and expected scoring displayed satisfactory environment for learning. Significant differences (p 0.0001) were found in the two samples. Conclusion: In general the results displayed that the students perceived the environment positively but the significant difference found in the two samples, demonstrated that their expectations were not met.