Abstract
Background: Serious games are potential alternatives for supplementing traditional simulation-based education for neonatal resuscitation training. However, evidence regarding the benefits of using serious games to improve long-term knowledge retention of neonatal resuscitation in undergraduate medical students is lacking.Objective: We designed a serious computer game “NEOGAMES” to train undergraduate medical students in neonatal resuscitation in a cost-friendly and accessible way and to examine whether serious game-based training improves long-term knowledge retention in medical students.Methods: “NEOGAMES” consists of a screen with images of an incubator, a baby, visual objects, anatomy, action cards, monitors, real-time feedback, and emotional components. Undergraduate medical students from Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University were invited to participate and were allocated to a game group or a control group. Participants in the game group played the game before the training. All the participants completed three written tests, pre- and post-training knowledge tests and a follow-up test after 6 months.Results: Eighty-one medical students participated in the study. The student demographic characteristics of the groups were comparable, including sex, age, and grade point average (GPA). Significant short-term knowledge improvement was noticed only for male students in the game group based on their 5.2-point higher test scores than those of the controls (p = 0.006). However, long-term knowledge improvement at 6 months was identified for both male and female students in the game group, with test scores 21.8 and 20 points higher, respectively, than those of the controls (P < 0.001). The long-term knowledge retention in the game group was almost 3 times higher than that in the control group.Conclusions: Long-term knowledge retention was nearly 3 times higher for the game group than for the control group. The improvement in knowledge supports the use of serious games for undergraduate medical education.
Highlights
Simulation is beneficial for improving performance initially after training and is a time-effective method that has been used globally [1]; cognitive and technical skills significantly deteriorate within months [2], and deficiencies in non-technical skills remain common [3]
The students who took the course in October were allocated to the game group with access to the online NEOGAMES. Those who took the course in November were allocated to the control group without access to NEOGAMES
A total of 91 undergraduate medical students were eligible for the study, and all of them agreed to participate (100% response rate)
Summary
Simulation is beneficial for improving performance initially after training and is a time-effective method that has been used globally [1]; cognitive and technical skills significantly deteriorate within months [2], and deficiencies in non-technical skills remain common [3]. Serious games are potential alternatives for supplementing traditional simulation-based education (SBE) for neonatal resuscitation training and are able to improve working memory, decision-making and teamwork performance at low cost [5]. They are increasingly incorporated into medical school curricula to reinforce theoretical and practical learning [5]. Ghoman et al trained 50 health care providers (HCPs) with the RETAIN digital simulation game and their short- and long-term knowledge retention was evaluated [7]. Serious games are potential alternatives for supplementing traditional simulation-based education for neonatal resuscitation training. Evidence regarding the benefits of using serious games to improve long-term knowledge retention of neonatal resuscitation in undergraduate medical students is lacking
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
