Evaluation of educational environment using the short-version Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM): A multicenter study.

Abstract

Background: The quality of the educational environment (EE) influences residents' achievement of learning outcomes and their professional development. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the EE using the short-version Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM) and compare residents' perceptions in total and subscale PHEEM according to their age, sex, residency year, and specialty.

Materials and methods: This multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted at 12 teaching hospitals affiliated with the Tehran University of Medical Sciences. We recruited residents from 24 specialties and from the first to third/fourth residency years. Data were collected using the short-version PHEEM, which consists of 12 items with three subscales: senior doctor support and teaching skills (4), conditions of working and time to learn (4), and lack of harassment (4). The association between scores in total and each subscale with sex, residency year, and specialty was assessed.

Results: In total, 538 residents from 24 specialties completed the questionnaire. Most participants were from internal medicine (n = 72, 13.4%). A total of 347 (64.5%) participants were females. The total PHEEM score was 20.60 (standard deviation (SD) 5.44) out of 48, with occupational medicine residents giving the highest scores and forensic medicine residents the lowest. The mean scores for the dimensions of senior doctor support and teaching skills were 7.55 (SD 2.87), for conditions of working and time to learn 6.08 (SD 3.94), and 6.95 (SD 3.22) for lack of harassment. There was no significant difference in total PHEEM scores for males and females. However, significant differences were found in subscales by sex. There were no statistically significant differences in residents' perceptions of the EE (total and subscales) according to their residency years, but there were significant differences between the specialties (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: The EE of the residency training program during COVID-19 was perceived to have plenty of problems that need immediate attention and follow-up.