Medical and Dental Students' Perceptions of the Learning Environment during Anatomic Pathology Placement at Obafemi...

The educational environment is an important factor in nurturing students' learning. Students' experiences of the climate of their learning environment positively correlate with their academic success, achievements and satisfaction.

The study aimed to determine the perceptions of medical and dental students about their learning environment during anatomical pathology clinical placement.

A prospective, cross-sectional study using a guided self-administered Dundee Ready Education Environment Measurement (DREEM) questionnaire was conducted among fourth year medical and fifth-year dental students on anatomical pathology placement at the College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Nigeria. One hundred and eleven of 118 students participated in the study.

The age range was 19-35 years. The majority of the students were males ( n= 80, 72.1%). The overall mean score was 115.19 ± 25.6 (maximum obtainable total score = 200), indicating that the students perceived their learning environment as more positive than negative. The mean score for each subscale of the DREEM instrument was: 29.24/48 (60.9%) for perception of learning; 25.67/44 (58.3%) for perception of teaching; 20.89/32 (65.3%) for academic self-perception; 25.61/48(53.4%) for perception of the atmosphere of learning; and 13.52/28 (48.3%) social self-perception. No statistically significant difference was found by sex, age group, and course of study for each DREEM domain.

Students' perception regarding the learning environment for anatomical pathology in the focal university shows the need for improvement across various domains. However, academic self-perception and social self-perception are the areas of greatest need.