Students perceptions about their first year at the university. University of Chile. Faculty of Medicine Percepción de los alumnos sobre su primer año de universidad. Facultad de medicina Universidad de Chile

Abstract

A study was designed with the aim of describing the perception of students from the eight schools in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Chile, at the end of their first academic year, with respect to the following: adjustment to university life, emotional environment, quality of teaching, physical environment and fulfillment of expectations. Material and method: An instrument comprising 66 Likert-type statements was designed and validated by experts. A score was given for each response. For the analysis, the total scale was divided into four categories. Results: 496 students responded. Only 23% felt they had achieved "adjustment to university life". Among the factors affecting this were the amount of subject material, the time commitment and the lack of practical guidance regarding study techniques. 80% considered the "emotional environment" to be "good" and 75% regarded the "quality of teaching" as average. A high proportion felt teachers were only interested in teaching the