DENTAL RESIDENTS' PERCEPTION OF LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: EXPERIENCE OF A NIGERIAN TRAINING INSTITUTION

BACKGROUND: Learning environment has been described as crucial in determining the success of medical and dental education. Continuous evaluation of this environment will help in maximizing the learning opportunities of the training program. OBJECTIVE: To assess the resident doctors' perception of their learning environment at a teaching hospital in Nigeria METHODS: The DREEM questionnaire was administered to participants undergoing residency training in the faculty of Dental Surgery at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. RESULTS: Thirty-nine resident doctors participated in the study (23 Males, 16 Females), mean age (±SD) was 35.7 (±4.22) ranging from 28 years to 46 years. Mean global score (±SD) was 105.3 (±26.8), 52.7%, out of a maximum of 200. The mean global score according to gender was significantly higher among males than females. The overall perception of the training environment by residents is more positive than negative and the male gender appears to have a more positive perception than the female gender. However, this perception is borderline as the environment was perceived as having many problems and residents' perception of their learning environment is mostly negative. Attention of the institution and trainers should be drawn to possibilities of combating the problem areas for better outcome of residency training in our environment.