Battle of the Classes: Experiential Learning Through the Gamification of Conference
Abstract
Learning Objectives: 1) Improve active engagement of learners through gamification. 2) Prepare learners to appropriately respond to mass casualty incidents. 3) Understand the management of multiple disease processes secondary to trauma and environmental factors.
Background: With traditional models of teaching falling out of favor, there is increased evidence supporting hands-on and experiential learning models. Gamification is a dynamic avenue that stimulates learner engagement by incorporating elements of game design to non-game contexts. However, its utility as a learning tool has not been formally examined as part of a residency curriculum. We aim to augment existing learning models by implementing gamification in a SimWars-based conference curriculum.
Educational Objectives: 1) Improve active engagement of learners through gamification. 2) Prepare learners to appropriately respond to mass casualty incidents. 3) Understand the management of multiple disease processes secondary to trauma and environmental factors.
Curricular Design: Learners (EM residents) were divided into three teams corresponding to their years of post-graduate training. Each team participated in treating a set of simulated patients that were deemed to be appropriate for their level of training. Cases included the following patient scenarios: exposure to an unknown environmental agent, hazardous building fire, mass casualty incident triage, and hemorrhagic shock management. Learners not directly involved in the case observed from the audience. This three-hour simulation session was conducted during weekly conference using simulation mannequins, high-fidelity low-cost models, and faculty acting as patients and other personnel. Designated faculty members judged teams on their teamwork and management. After each case, faculty members conducted a debrief focused on the educational objectives for the case. After the simulation session, the residents completed a likert-type survey to assess resident learning and engagement.
Impact: The residents provided overwhelmingly positive feedback. They found that this simulation was more educational than other types of activities, helping them better understand and manage the relevant emergent pathology.