Evaluation of the educational environment during medical residency at Hospital del Niño Dr. José Renán Esquivel of Panama, 2023

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the learning environment of the postgraduate training program in pediatrics and subspecialties of the Hospital del Niño Dr. José Renán Esquivel using the Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM) questionnaire. Method: Observational, analytical, cross-sectional study. Results: The questionnaire was applied to 46 (94%) of the 49 eligible subjects, 36 (78.2%) of whom were female. The mean age of the subjects was 30.4 years ± 2.28 years with a minimum of 24 years and a maximum of 34 years. Four (8.6%) corresponded to first year residents, 25 (54%) to second year residents, 9 (19%) to third year residents and 8 (17%) to fourth and fifth year residents. The overall result of the questionnaire was 97.80± 17.76 indicating a more positive than negative educational environment with room for improvement. The domain of perception of autonomy was 35.58 ± 6.34 indicating a more positive perception of one's work, for perception of teaching quality it was 36.84 ±7.89 indicating that it is heading in the right direction. The perception of social support was 25.36 ± 5.10 with more pros than cons. A statistically significant difference was obtained according to the year of residency in global (p= 0.0003), autonomy (p= 0.0164), teaching (p= 0.001) and social support (p= 0.0128), with higher results in the group of 4th and 5th year residents. There were no significant differences according to university of origin, internship center or gender. Conclusions: The PHEEM is a reliable and easy-to-administer instrument, it allows us to assess the educational environment in which a training program is developed in a healthcare context.