Perception of Educational Environment among Medical Residents Enrolled in Dubai Residency Training Program (DRTP) by Using DREEM Inventory

Objectives: To validate Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) inventory in the educational environment of Dubai Residency Training Program (DRTP).
Methods: The 50-items DREEM questionnaire was administered to all medical residents (n = 60) at various academic sessions. The ethical approval was taken and the purpose of the study was explained to the residents before the questionnaire was distributed.
Results: An observational cross-sectional survey was applied in the conduct of our research. A total number of 60 residents from Dubai Residency Training Program (DRTP) in 2012 – 2014 participated in the study (response rate 98.3%). The overall DREEM score was 116.7/200 (58.35%) indicating that the DRTP residents’ perception of educational environment was more positive than negative. The DREEM questionnaire was further subdivided into 5 subclasses and the mean score were measured. These include Residents’ perceptions of learning (27.45 = A more positive perception), residents’ perceptions of course organizers (25.9= Moving in the right direction), residents’ academic self perceptions (17.9= Feeling more on the positive side), residents’ perceptions of atmosphere (28.5= A more positive attitude), and residents’ social self perception (15.47= Not too bad).Nevertheless, the study also revealed some problem areas within the educational environment.
Conclusion: Our study revealed that the post graduate medical residents enrolled in DRTP perceived a more positive than negative learning environment. Some low-scored areas identified when interpreting the results in more depth require further exploration to address the exact problems. The relatively small study population selected was the major limitation of the study and signifies that the study findings cannot be generalized.