title: Medical students' perception of the learning environment at King Saud University Medical College, Saudi Arabia, using DREEM Inventory.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The students' perception of the learning environment is an important aspect for evaluation and improvement of the educational program. The College of Medicine at King Saud University (KSU) reformed its curriculum in 2009 from a traditional to a system-oriented hybrid curriculum.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of the present study was to determine the perception of the second batch (reformed curriculum) of medical graduates about the educational environment at the College of Medicine, KSU, using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) scale.
  
  
  METHODS
  The fifth year medical students were asked to evaluate the educational program after graduation in May 2014. The questionnaire was distributed to the graduate students electronically. The DREEM questionnaire consisted of 50 items based on Likert's scale; and five domains, namely, students' perceptions of learning, perceptions of teachers, academic self-perceptions, perceptions of atmosphere, and social self-perceptions. Data were analyzed using SPSS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 62 students participated in the study. The score for students' perception of learning among medical students ranged from 2.93 to 3.64 (overall mean score: 40.17). The score for students' perception of teachers ranged from 2.85 to 4.01 (overall mean score: 33.35). The score for students' academic self-perceptions ranged from 3.15 to 4.06 (overall mean score: 28.4). The score for students' perception of atmosphere ranged from 2.27 to 3.91 (overall mean score: 41.32). The score for students' social self-perceptions ranged from 2.85 to 4.33 (overall mean score: 24.33). The general perceptions of the students in all five sub-scales were positive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The overall student's perception about the educational environment was satisfactory. This study was important to evaluate the students' perception of the learning environment among medical graduates of the reformed curriculum and provided guidance on areas of improvement in the curriculum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology; Department of Medical Education.
authors.forename: Mona M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Soliman
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education.
authors.forename: Kamran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sattar
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, King Saud University.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alnassar
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, King Saud University Medical City.
authors.forename: Faisal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alsaif
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine.
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Alswat
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alghonaim
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Maysoon
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alhaizan
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Nawaf
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Al-Furaih
keywords: DREEM inventory; Saudi Arabia; learning environment; medical students; perception