Reassessment of the undergraduate educational environment in College of Medicine, Taibah University, Almadinah Almunawwarah, Saudi Arabia

Background: We reassessed the perception of all undergraduate students in Taibah medical college regarding the educational environment during the academic year 2010-2011 and compared it with the assessment carried out three years earlier in order to identify the change over time from previous assessment. Method: In the present prospective study, the validated 50-item Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) inventory was collected from medical students of basic phase (n = 302) and clinical phase (n = 222) and compared the scores of students' responses with those of previous assessment 3years earlier. Results: In the year 2007/2008 DREEM inventory scored 109.1/200 and scored 120.70/200 (p <= 0.0001) in the year 2010/2011. There was an interesting inclination of female students towards a more positively perceived learning environment as compared to male students (26/48 versus 24/48, p<0.03). There were statistically significant differences in all domain components of DREEM between the academic years 2007/2008 and 2010/2011. Conclusions: DREEM helped pinpoint areas of change in students' perception regarding many aspects of the educational environment. It also helped to identify areas that are still in need of improvement by the college's administration and staff. DREEM inventory can be used to monitor change over time in the educational environment.