Anesthesiology residents’ perception towards educational environment using ATEEM in a medical school in Thailand

Background: Educational environment is related to the learning achievement to assess and
certify knowledge, ability to practice the medicine profession of residents very much. The
Anesthetic Trainee Theatre Educational Environment Measure (ATEEM) instrument is designed
for assessing the perception of the educational environment of anesthesiology residents. The
purpose of this research was to develop a Thai version of the ATEEM instrument to be used for
effective evaluation in Thailand.
Methods: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study in order to assess the applicability of
the Thai version of the ATEEM instrument with 170 anesthesiology residents. The questionnaire
was assessed for reliability using coefficient of internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha and
split-half reliability. The item-objective congruence (IOC) index and item content validity index
(I-CVI) were calculated for content validity. Student’s t test was used to compare residents’
perceived scores between sexes and age groups.
Results: In all, 95 of 170 anesthesiology residents completed questionnaires in the inventory
(a response rate of 55.9%). The overall mean ATEEM score was 122.9/160 (76.8%), which
indicated more positive than negative perceptions. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.931, and five
subdomains had Cronbach’s alphas greater than 0.7, indicating acceptable reliability. Split-half
reliability was 0.95. All items had range values for IOC and I-CVI between 0.67 -1.00, and
S-CVI/Ave was 0.98.
Conclusion: The Thai version of the educational environment questionnaire showed that
acceptable reliability and validity, indicating it can be used for appropriate and accurate
assessment of the perception of Thai anesthesiology residents. ATEEM is a culture independent
questionnaire that can be used with both anesthesiology residents and medical students who
study in the operating room without specific restrictions or effects from nation or culture.