Medical Student Perceptions of Virtual Pharmacology Educational Games

Abstract

Previous studies from our institution have demonstrated the value of pharmacology educational games in promoting recall practice and topic interest necessary for medical students to learn pharmacology. At our institution, pharmacology and other basic science topic games are embedded into curricular activities, in-class, faculty facilitated team competitions, and self-learning modules (SLMs). Little work has been done to assess student perceptions of virtual versus in-class games, despite the fact that developing effective virtual pharmacology learning tools has become essential due to curricular changes adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of this pilot study was to survey students on their perceptions and preferences for in-class, faculty facilitated games vs. virtual electronic games. Since we hypothesized that students’ perceptions of feedback would differ between in-class and virtual games, we additionally surveyed students on their preferences for enriched auditory vs. simple text feedback within virtual games. Methods An end of module survey was sent to all students in a second-year medical school (M2) systems course (N=110 total, 70% participated) to get a broad class perceptive. A subset of M2's (N=14) volunteered to beta test pharmacology virtual trivia games with feedback that ranged from plain text answers to enriched auditory feedback performed by actors (varied genders, ages, personalities) and feedback from a trusted pharmacology instructor offering coaching and praise similar to classroom feedback. Results Approximately 70% of students reported using the games and answered survey items, with most affirming (reported as % agreeing/strongly agreeing) that virtual and in-class games promoted active learning (80%), integrated basic and clinical concepts (84%), and stimulated thinking (84%). About 60% preferred participating in or watching videos of in-class games with auditory feedback from instructors. Of those with a preference, 50% preferred Trivia while 25% preferred Jeopardy. Of the 14 students beta testing virtual trivia games, most agreed (83%) that the virtual games increased pharmacology interest and promoted active learning, though fewer than 25% preferred enriched auditory feedback from actors over simple written text. A majority (61%) agreed that hearing the voice of a trusted professor was beneficial. Conclusion Most M2 students used game-based methods and highly valued either in-class team or virtual games for promoting topic interest, active learning, and integration. Students valued coaching and auditory feedback from a trusted professor in either classroom or virtual games. However, most students preferred simple text feedback over auditory, unless the feedback voice was the pharmacology instructor's. Thus, virtual pharmacology educational games with simple feedback designs appear to be engaging virtual teaching tools for pharmacology learning in the age of COVID and beyond.