TMSS Medical College Journal

Background: The educational environment is a critical determinant of students’ learning experiences, academic success, and professional development in medical education. Objective: To assess students’ perception of the educational environment using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire at TMSS Medical College, Bogura, Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive research with a quantitative approach was conducted among undergraduate medical students and the population was all the medical students (batch11 to 15) of TMSS medical college (N 722). A convenience sampling method was applied. Data were collected using the validated DREEM questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Descriptive statistics were applied to determine overall, domain-wise, and item-wise scores. Results: A total of 593 students participated giving a response rate of 82%. The highest percentage of the students were in 3rd year 145(25%); and lowest in 5th year 98(16%). The research included 593 participants, consisting of 339 females (57%) and 254 males (43%). Geographically, the majority were from Bangladesh (339, 57%), followed by India (200, 34%), and Nepal (54, 9%). The overall DREEM score was 131/200 (mean 2.63, SD 0.93), and as per DREEM interpretation guidelines, a total score ranging from 101 to 150 indicates that the educational environment is perceived as “more positive than negative” by the students. The highest score was observed among 3rd year students (144/200), while the lowest was among 5th year students (116/200). All domains showed positive perception, though several items indicated areas requiring improvement. Out of 50 items eleven items scored > 3 and identified as the strong areas of Educational Environment. Only two items scored < 2 and identified as problematic areas of the Educational Environment of TMSS medical college. Majority thirty-seven items scored within 2-3 indicate areas need to improve further with targeted intervention. Conclusion: Although the educational environment is perceived positively by the students, targeted improvements are needed, particularly in student support systems and clinical learning environment.

The educational environment is considered one of the most important components of contemporary medical education because it directly influences students’ learning experiences, academic achievement, professional development, and psychological well-being. * The concept of educational environment extends beyond physical infrastructure and teaching facilities and includes the overall academic atmosphere, interpersonal relationships, institutional culture, teaching methodologies, and support systems that collectively shape students’ educational experiences.’ A progressive educational environment helps motivation, critical thinking. self-directed learning, and skilled growth, whereas a hostile environment may contribute to stress, displeasure, exhaustion, and poor academic performance.