Student Pharmacists’ Assessment of a Serious Game on Opioid Medication Safety

Abstract

Objective: To explore second- and third-year student pharmacists’ perspectives on the design and use of a digital game to teach opioid medication safety. To explore the game-based learning approach to teach about appropriate drug use and pediatric education. Innovation: The lead author developed MedSMA℞T: Adventures in PharmaCity, an educational video game focused on adolescent opioid safety. Second- and third-year students in a Midwestern School of Pharmacy enrolled in an elective course focused on appropriate use of abused drugs, played the digital game during a classroom session on adolescent opioid misuse. Using a small group discussion guide, students summarized their reflections and perspectives on gameplay. Critical Analysis: Students retained fundamental messages of the game including opioid safety and identified that social interactions contribute to decision-making and consequences of opioid misuse. Student pharmacists found the game’s visual appearance engaging, dialogue amusing, and the settings and scenarios relatable. Feedback regarding game controls, environment, dialogue, instructions, and level summaries was provided by students to improve the game design and content. This project provides an example of a thoughtful approach to game-based learning in pharmacy classrooms with the purpose of enhancing student pharmacists’ knowledge about opioid safety education, communication, social collaboration, and critical-thinking. Next Steps: Future projects can further investigate student pharmacists’ preferences of using game-based active learning. Additionally, retention rates of students from joint lectures and game-based learning activities can be analyzed.

Learning technology in health professions education: Realising an (un)imagined future

“…56,88,[92][93][94] Thirty-five articles modified teaching methods with technology, often using technology to support changes to curriculum or teaching methods. Examples included the use of social media, 50 studentcreated digital resources, 95,96 serious games or escape rooms [97][98][99] and virtual and augmented reality. 64,65,100,101 With these examples, technologies were used in novel ways to allow students to learn more deeply or to extend learning beyond the traditionally possible.…”

An Overview of the CRoME Lab’s MedSMA℞T Families Intervention for Promoting Opioid Medication Safety among Adolescents and Parents

“…A study conducted as part of a pharmacy course required students to play the MedSMA℞T game for up to 30 minutes and participate in group discussions about their experience playing the game. 26 Student pharmacists held positive outlooks of the game’s graphics, appearance, and storylines. Students suggested that there was some difficulty in identifying level objectives, but the complexity of the game was appreciated, nonetheless.…”

Game-Based Learning in Pharmacy Education

“…In some simulations, students did report increased confidence in their abilities [ 15 ]. Additional technology-enhanced games focused on creating player avatars that participants could utilize to interact with game elements to practice certain skills and advance or level up [ 17 , 18 ]. These simulations focused more on the enjoyment and experience of the user as opposed to evaluating impact on formal student outcomes [ 17 , 18 ].…”