General practice: The DREEM attachment? Comparing the educational environment of hospital and general practice placements

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN IN THIS AREA: • Clinical placements in general practice are now a core part of undergraduate medical education. Rising student numbers and changes in clinical practice challenge all involved in medical education to ensure a high-quality learning environment. WHAT THIS WORK ADDS: • Little work makes direct comparison between the educational environment of hospital and community placements. • We used a widely used quantitative tool, the DREEM, to compare hospital and general practice placements of junior medical students in a newly introduced integrated curriculum. • We found significant differences between general practice and hospital rotations in students' perceptions of atmosphere, social self-perceptions and students' perceptions of teachers in general practice, favouring the learning environment of general practice. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH: • Is this difference reflective of the different learning needs of more junior students or does it persist as students become more familiar with clinical practice? • To investigate if students of different cultures prefer different learning environments.