What is Medical Education Here Really Like? Suggestions for action research studies of climates of medical education environments

Abstract

The climate or overall ambience of medical education environments is a concept that is of relevance to medical teachers. It includes for example, the extent to which the environment fosters scholarly or intellectual activities and the extent to which it encourages friendliness, co-operation and supportiveness. This paper reviews how medical teachers can assess the climate of the medical education environment. It reviews climate research studies that medical teachers might undertake and some methodologies they might employ in such studies. The focus of the paper is on the notion of the medical teacher as an action researcher using climate instrumentation and research strategies, to understand the nature, and improve the quality, of the educational experience that students gain in medical schools, and their constituent departments, classrooms and other settings.