title: Learning environment assessments of a single curriculum being taught at two medical schools 10,000 miles apart.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine (PUGSOM), the first graduate-entry medical school in Malaysia, was established in 2011 in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM), an American medical school. This study compared learning environments (LE) at these two schools, which shared the same overarching curriculum, along with a comparator Malaysian medical school, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences (CUCMS). As a secondary aim, we compared 2 LE assessment tools - the widely-used Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) and the newer Johns Hopkins Learning Environment Scale (JHLES).
  
  
  METHODS
  Students responded anonymously at the end of their first year of medical school to surveys which included DREEM, JHLES, single-item global LE assessment variables, and demographics questions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Respondents included 24/24 (100 %) students at PUGSOM, 100/120 (83 %) at JHUSOM, and 79/83 (95 %) at CUCMS. PUGSOM had the highest overall LE ratings (p < 0.05) [DREEM 155.3 (SD 21.3); JHLES 116.5 (SD 12.2)], followed by JHUSOM [DREEM 143.3 (SD 22.5); JHLES 111.7 (SD 12.0)] and CUCMS [DREEM 138.5 (SD 22.4); JHLES 106.4 (SD 14.5)]. PUGSOM's overall high LE ratings were driven by responses in "perception of teaching," "meaningful engagement," and "acceptance and safety" domains. JHLES detected significant differences across schools in 5/7 domains and had stronger correlations than DREEM to each global LE assessment variable.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The inaugural class of medical students at PUGSOM rated their LE exceptionally highly, providing evidence that transporting a medical school curriculum may be successful. The JHLES showed promise as a LE assessment tool for use in international settings.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. stacket1@jhmi.edu.|, 4940 Eastern Ave, MFL Center Tower Suite 2300, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA. stacket1@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Sean
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tackett
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. rshoche1@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shochet
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. nshilko1@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Nicole A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Shilkofski
authors.affiliation: Medical Education Development and Assessment at the University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. jorie.colbertgetz@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jorie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Colbert-Getz
authors.affiliation: Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine, Serdang, Malaysia. drkgrampal@perdanauniversity.edu.my.
authors.forename: Krishna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rampal
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences, Selangor, Malaysia. hamidah@cybermed.edu.my.
authors.forename: Hamidah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abu Bakar
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. swright@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wright
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015142:Baltimore; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007393:International Educational Exchange; D007858:Learning; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012577:Schools, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D012931:Social Environment; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult