Female student DREEMS at Jazan medical school of Saudi Arabia

Dear Sir

Learning environment significantly impacts student's academic success. Not only ‘what’ is being taught; but also ‘when’, ‘where’ and ‘how’ it is being taught affects students learning behaviour, sense of well being and achievement of educational objectives (Roff et al. 1997). Recently, Jazan University of Saudi Arabia reformed its curriculum from traditional to integrated, problem-based. In 2010, an ‘All-female’ medical section enrolled its first batch of students. Based on the concerns regarding ‘new curriculum changes’ in a ‘newly established college’ against the backdrop of an ongoing Quality Assurance and Accreditation program, we wished to objectively assess educational environment standards as perceived by our female medical students. 76 students were administered the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (Roff et al. 1997) during 2011. The mean score was 96.57/200 (Learning – 20.54,Teaching – 24.63, Academic – 16.25, Atmosphere – 20.61, Social – 14.54; poorest scores were for Learning and Atmosphere and best scores were for Teaching domains).

While no consensus exists on an ‘ideal DREEM score’; our scores are lower than most institutions and indicate definite pedagogical lapses; India, Srilanka, Trinidad, Nepal, Nigeria, and UK scored 107, 108, 110, 130, 118 and 139, respectively (Abraham et al. 2008). Interestingly, Srilankan, Nepalese and Indian medical schools had higher scores, not-withstanding the restricted economy of these ‘resource-limited’ nations which managed to create sound pedagogical environments despite being ‘not-at-par’ with Saudi affluent logistics in the higher education sector. Surely, ‘factors beyond facilities’ frame learning climates. Human resources matter more than material amenities in creating conductive environments and ‘young institutions’ like ours need to focus on their ‘person power’ and ‘policies’ to achieve desirable standards.

Item-wise analysis indicated that students were stressed, with poor social/academic perceptions and low confidence levels. Teachers were viewed as knowledgeable but authoritarian. Learning atmosphere did not adequately support or motivate students. Uncertainty of learning objectives and superfluous, dogmatic teaching was a general problem. Stress, tiredness, apathy and boredom apparently stem from an overburdened system trying to cover ‘too much in too little a time’ in the background of insufficient interpersonal cohesion amongst an increasingly heterogeneous community of scholars truncated into expatriate and indigenous populations that typify Saudi medical education.

Core-content mapping, collaborative teaching models, counselling, social skills and professional development programs could enhance team work, positive interdependence and mutual accountability, which may eventually contribute towards making better doctors. Considering current Saudi educational trends with federal emphasis on ‘women in higher education’, diagnostic inventories like DREEM can provide noteworthy findings to ensure quality in learning environments and uniformity in standards for females.