Educational environment and academic success: Are they related in medical education?

Abstract

Introduction: The academic environment in medicine is crucial since it provides insight into how the curriculum occurs in context and how it is understood by students. However, little attention has been given to the relationship between the academic environment of integrated curricula and the academic success of medical students.

Aim: To determine whether students’ perceptions of the academic environment in an integrated medical curriculum is associated with their academic success.

Method. Quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional, correlational study. Students’ perceptions of the academic environment were analyzed using the validated DREEM questionnaire during the first half of 2019. Data were also collected from the USMLE Step 1 simulacrum and students’ grades to measure their academic success.

Results: 39 students participated in the study. The average DREEM score was 148/200. They perceived an environment with more positive than negative elements. Students scored an average of 30.92% in USMLE Step 1 simulacrum and the GPA scores were 4.29/5.0 for the three-year cumulative and 4.5/5.0 for the sixth semester. No correlation was found between the total DREEM score and the USMLE Step 1 simulacrum score. No correlation was found between the total DREEM score and the students’ grades.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that being academically successful on course grades and international standardized tests may be different from feeling good about learning in an integrated medical curriculum. It is important to determine whether the efforts made to qualify the educational environment, in relation to a curriculum such as ours, will result in greater academic success of the students, for which reason it is suggested that further studies be carried out in the future.