Assessment of Educational Environment for Interns Using Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM)

ObjectivesFaculty of Medicine, Taibah University, Saudi Arabia, is a newly established faculty with no university teaching hospital. The faculty depends on public hospitals for its undergraduate and postgraduate intern training, but the responsibility of ensuring the quality of the training and the educational environment are up to the standards of the university lies on the faculty. Hence, this study was conducted to assess the quality of the educational environment as perceived by the first two classes of interns graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at Taibah University.MethodsAn Arabic translation of the Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM) was used to assess the educational environmentResultsOut of 110 interns, 78 (71%) completed the questionnaire to assess four major departments. Scores in descending order were (out of 160): 146.4 for Pediatrics, 112.3 for Internal Medicine, 79.8 for General Surgery and 78.0 for Obstetrics and Gynecology. There was no statistical significant difference between genders.ConclusionThe educational environment in two of the departments assessed above need a comprehensive review to improve the quality of the training. There were also some concerns about the introductory courses provided to the interns by the university before the commencement of their training.