Assessment of Measured Differences in a Dundee-Ready Educational Environment Using Traditional and Integrated Methods in the Hawler College of Medicine, Iraq

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the perception of medical students in the College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University about the integrated medical and the traditional medical programs and to compare the two programs from the students’ perspectives. Materials and Methods: The study samples were selected from the students in the academic year of 2016-2017, which included the second- and third-year students that had signed up for the integrated program and additionally fourth- and fifth-year students who had participated in the traditional programs. They were asked to fill out the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) forms and take part in the research. Results: The mean DREEM total score was significantly higher among the students who enrolled in the integrated program compared to those in the traditional program (104.06 vs. 98.69, P=0.006). The subscales of the students’ perceptions of teachers (P<0.001) and the environment (P=0.039) were statistically significant when compared to the data from traditional programs. Conclusions: In general, students who enrolled in the integrated program had an overall higher DREEM score compared with those who entered in the traditional program. Nevertheless, the students still had a poor perception of the learning environment and subsequently the curriculum.

Keywords

• medical education
• integrated program
• traditional teaching
• learning environment