Development and evaluation of an educational game to support pharmacy students

Abstract

Introduction: Pharmacy students in the United Kingdom (UK) need to efficiently navigate the British National Formulary (BNF), a standard medicines reference source. "Pharmacy Challenge" is a web based prototype game based on the BNF. This research aimed to evaluate the game in terms of design, content and impact on students' performance and confidence. Methods: Evaluation comprised three phases: implementation, perception and impact of a serious game. Game design and evaluation methods were modelled using adapted elements of the RETAIN framework. Qualitative and quantitative questionnaires were utilised to assess students' perceptions of the game and its role in their education and to evaluate changes in confidence and performance experienced by students after playing the game. Quizzes were developed to determine changes in performance through comparison of scores before and following game use.Results: The questionnaire evaluation (n=152) found students' confidence increased significantly (p<0.05) in: speed of using, knowledge of BNF sections, extracting information and knowing where to look for the answer. Students (88%;106/120) felt they had learnt something new, 86% (103/120) felt that it reinforced their learning. A significant (p<0.05) increase in pre and post BNF quiz marks was observed (n=33).Conclusions: Statistically significant improvement in students' perceived confidence was noted. The study identified design elements such as the need for a simple interface to encourage engagement.The prototype has undergone a design transformation based on the feedback provided and is now released under the name "DOSE" with a bank of 300 questions, improved graphics, a leadership board and medals.

The design, implementation and evaluation of hybrid cancer clinic simulations: Escaping the norm

“…As other studies have discussed, escape rooms have numerous logistical hurdles requiring careful consideration and meticulous planning. [21][22][23][24][25] Our simulated cancer clinic could only accommodate 6 students at a time, thus requiring 6 different simulations per clinic to ensure that all teams completed the activity. As each clinic involved numerous props, puzzles, clues, etc., setting up for each activity was time and resource intensive.…”

“…20 Furthermore, interest in serious games among health care educators has increased dramatically in the past decade. 21 Educators have recently co-opted the popularized “escape room” concept and repurposed it into a successful learning activity. 21–25 Escape rooms have been described as “live-action team-based games where players discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal (usually escaping the room) in a limited amount of time.” 22,26 In general, pharmacy-related escape rooms utilize a similar progression and cadence; however, the clues, puzzles, and tasks often relate back to educational outcomes or objectives.…”

Game-Based Learning in Pharmacy Education

“…® competition to prepare students for immunology assessments [ 12 ]. Nabhani et al attempted a similar strategy of quizzing students within an online software platform [ 32 ]. Cusick et al reviewed immunology concepts with a Jeopardy ® -style game using clicker questions [ 36 ].…”

“…All of these gaming activities focused on a simpler, direct approach of quizzing students with practice questions related to the topic. Two of these strategies led to increased quiz scores [ 12 , 32 ], while some students found this type of learning engaging [ 36 ].…”

Usability Methods and Attributes Reported in Usability Studies of Mobile Apps for Health Care Education: Scoping Review (Preprint)

“…Table 3 provides an overview of the usability attributes identified in the included studies. Reports (references) Distribution, n (%) Usability attribute [24][25][26][27][28][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][39][40][41][42][44][45][46][47][48]50,52,[54][55][56][57]59,60,[62][63][64][65][66][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81]83,84,[86]…”