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The development and validation of the mini-surgical theatre educational environment measure
Shobhana Nagraj1, David Wall, Ellen Jones
1Birmingham Children's Hospital, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Background:
The operating theatre educational environment during medical school may influence student's perceptions of a surgical career. Interest in a surgical career is declining both in the USA and the UK. This study sought to develop and validate a practical questionnaire for distribution to medical undergraduates to assess their operating theatre educational environment.
Methods:
A previously published questionnaire--the Surgical Theatre Educational Environment Measure (STEEM) (validated on postgraduates) was distributed to 83 final year medical students. The STEEM was found to be a reliable and valid tool for use on undergraduates (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86). From this preliminary study, factor analysis identified 13 factors covering 73% of the variance, which enabled the development of a shorter 14-item questionnaire (mini-STEEM).
Results:
The mini-STEEM was distributed to 99 medical students following their final year surgical placement at a UK medical school, with a 100% response rate. The mini-STEEM was shown to be a valid, reliable (Cronbach's alpha = 0.80) and practical tool, which was easy to complete, code and analyse.
Conclusions:
The results showed that the overall climate within the operating theatre for medical undergraduates in one UK Medical School was good with no gender differences in the overall scores.
