title: Big Sib Students' Perceptions of the Educational Environment at the School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, using Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) Inventory.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among Big Sib students to explore their perceptions of the educational environment at the School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and its weak areas using the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) inventory. The DREEM inventory is a validated global instrument for measuring educational environments in undergraduate medical and health professional education.
  
  
  METHODS
  The English version of the DREEM inventory was administered to all Year 2 Big Sib students (n = 67) at a regular Big Sib session. The purpose of the study as well as confidentiality and ethical issues were explained to the students before the questionnaire was administered.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The response rate was 62.7% (42 out of 67 students). The overall DREEM score was 117.9/200 (SD 14.6). The DREEM indicated that the Big Sib students' perception of educational environment of the medical school was more positive than negative. Nevertheless, the study also revealed some problem areas within the educational environment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This pilot study revealed that Big Sib students perceived a positive learning environment at the School of Medical Sciences, USM. It also identified some low-scored areas that require further exploration to pinpoint the exact problems. The relatively small study population selected from a particular group of students was the major limitation of the study. This small sample size also means that the study findings cannot be generalised.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Hafiza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Arzuman
authors.forename: Muhamad Saiful Bahri
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Yusoff
authors.forename: Som Phong
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Chit