Impact of competency-based medical education on the educational environment and academic performance among medical students in a tertiary care hospital, Puducherry

Abstract Background: The National Medical Commission has introduced competency-based medical education (CBME) for undergraduate medical students since 2019. This study aimed to estimate the impact of CBME on educational environment of medical students and to compare the 2 nd -year university outcomes after the introduction of CBME with the non-CBME batch and among the CBME batches. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted among MBBS students of 2018, 2019, and 2020 batches of a medical college in Puducherry. The estimated sample size was 240. A structured questionnaire, which included sociodemographic details and 50-item Dundee Ready Education Environmental Measure (DREEM) in 5 domains to assess the educational environment with regard to teaching, learning, academic, and social environment, was used. The students were asked to fill the questionnaire using 5-point Likert-type scale. The data were analyzed using SPSSv23.0. Results: The mean age of 240 study participants in 2018, 2019, and 2020 batch was 22.18 ± 1.11 years. The overall DREEM score was higher in the CBME batch (138.7 ± 19.06) on comparison of all 5 domains SPT was found to be statistically significant ( P = 0.03) among the CBME and non-CBME batch. Comparison of two subsequent CBME batches (2019 and 2020) showed that 4 out of 5 domains are statistically significant. Distribution of university marks showed significant difference in overall performance ( P = 0.001). Conclusion: The implementation of the CBME curriculum has refined student’s educational environment as seen with increase in overall DREEM score of the CBME batch compared to the non-CBME batch.