Adaptation of the Turkish version of the Undergraduate Clinical Education Environment Measure (UCEEM)

BACKGROUND: The quality of the clinical learning environment plays a critical role in shaping medical students’ educational outcomes. The Undergraduate Clinical Education Environment Measure (UCEEM) is a widely recognized instrument designed to assess students’ perceptions of clinical education settings during undergraduate training. Although the UCEEM has been adapted into several languages, a validated Turkish version has not previously been available. This study aimed to translate the UCEEM into Turkish (UCEEM-TR) and to examine its psychometric properties. METHODS: A total of 340 final-year medical students from 37 medical faculties in Türkiye participated in the study. The adaptation process comprised translation, back-translation, expert review, cognitive debriefing, and linguistic equivalence testing. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to verify the original four-factor structure. Measurement invariance across gender was evaluated using a series of multiple-group ESEM models at the configural, metric, and scalar levels. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega, and test–retest reliability was examined using responses collected at two time points. Concurrent validity was evaluated through correlations with the Clinical Learning Climate Scale (CLCS). RESULTS: CFA confirmed the original four-factor structure of the UCEEM-TR, demonstrating acceptable model fit indices (CFI = 0.923, RMSEA = 0.076, SRMR = 0.056). The instrument demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.96 for the total scale) and high test–retest reliability (r = .97). A strong positive correlation between UCEEM-TR and CLCS scores (r = .77, p < .001) supported concurrent validity. Measurement invariance testing supported configural, metric, and scalar invariance across gender (ΔCFI ≤ 0.003; ΔRMSEA ≤ 0.001), indicating that the scale functions equivalently for female and male students. CONCLUSION: The Turkish version of the UCEEM yields valid and reliable measurements of medical students’ perceptions of the clinical education environment. This adaptation supports cross-cultural research and provides a valuable instrument for evaluating and improving clinical learning environments across Turkish medical faculties.