• Pia Strand, Karolina Sjöborg, Renée Stalmeijer, Gitte Wichmann-Hansen, Ulf Jakobsson, and Gudrun Edgren.
• Lund University , Sweden.
• Med Teach. 2013 Dec 1; 35 (12): 1014-26.

BackgroundThere is a paucity of instruments designed to evaluate the multiple dimensions of the workplace as an educational environment for undergraduate medical students.AimThe aim was to develop and psychometrically evaluate an instrument to measure how undergraduate medical students perceive the clinical workplace environment, based on workplace learning theories and empirical findings.MethodDevelopment of the instrument relied on established standards including theoretical and empirical grounding, systematic item development and expert review at various stages to ensure content validity. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed using a series of steps from conceptualization through psychometric analysis of scores in a Swedish medical student population.ResultsThe final result was a 25-item instrument with two overarching dimensions, experiential learning and social participation, and four subscales that coincided well with theory and empirical findings: Opportunities to learn in and through work & quality of supervision; Preparedness for student entry; Workplace interaction patterns & student inclusion; and Equal treatment. Evidence from various sources supported content validity, construct validity and reliability of the instrument.ConclusionThe Undergraduate Clinical Education Environment Measure represents a valid, reliable and feasible multidimensional instrument for evaluation of the clinical workplace as a learning environment for undergraduate medical students. Further validation in different populations using various psychometric methods is needed.

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