Validating modified PHEEM questionnaire for measuring educational environment in academic emergency departments

The quality of the educational environment is a key determinant in postgraduate training programs. In order to evaluate and understand this environment a valid and reliable instrument is required. The PHEEM (Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure) questionnaire is one of the most widely used tools for evaluating the perception of hospital-based residents. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric quality of the PHEEM in the context of emergency medicine program.

This study evaluated the reliability, construct validity and applicability of the Persian version of the PHEEM questionnaire using a sample of emergency medicine residents from 3 emergency medicine residency programs in Iran. Eighty-nine residents were asked to complete the questionnaire and indicate their agreement with each of the 37 statements using a 5-point Likert scale(strongly disagree: 0 to strongly agree: 4). Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated to determine internal consistency. Confirmatory and explanatory factor analyses were performed to assess the construct validity of the original 3 subscales of the questionnaire.

The mean score for the total questionnaire was 2.24 (SD: 0.06). The Cronbach's alpha value was found to be 0.86. Factor analysis did not confirm the original three subscales of the PHEEM questionnaire.

The Persian version of PHEEM proved a reliable and practical tool for assessing clinical educational environment in emergency medicine departments.