A Study on the Medical Students' Perspectives of Their Educational Environment Using the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) at a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in Telangana, India

Introduction India is currently experiencing a colossal increase in the number of medical colleges and a concurrent rise in the number of medical students pursuing Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). Shortages in the teaching faculty and infrastructural and logistic limitations like the availability of patients and clinical material are severely affecting the quality of medical education. Moreover, privatization has been instrumental in transforming medical education into a lucrative business compromising its quality. The present work intends to identify the deficiencies that could help the management create a better educational environment (EE) for the students. This study assessed the medical students' perspectives of the EE including the learning process, teaching quality, educational atmosphere, academic self-perception, and social self-perception. Methods This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study included 212 medical students pursuing MBBS at the Prathima Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Karimnagar, Telangana, India. The study used the standardized and globally validated Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM). Appropriate statistical methods were used to analyze and interpret the data. Results The cumulative DREEM score in this study was 112.64/200 (56.32%). The cumulative mean score of the responses was 2.39±0.42. The results demonstrated modest scores regarding the students' academic self-perceptions (SASP; 20.42/36; 56.72%), the students' perception of teachers (SPT; 26.23/44; 59.61%), and the students' perception of learning (SPL; 27.65/48; 57.60%). The scores concerning the students' perception of the atmosphere (SPA; 25.11/48; 52.31%), and the students' social self-perception (SSSP; 13.41/28; 47.89%) were also significantly inferior. Conclusion The study results revealed a satisfactory EE in the medical institution. Significant deficiencies concerning the college atmosphere and SSSP were observed. There is a scope for improvement in the domains of SASP, SPT, and SPL.