BACKGROUND
Complete blood count (CBC) and hemostatic screening tests are among the most commonly prescribed blood tests worldwide. All health care workers (nurse practitioners, pharmacists, dentists, midwives, and medical doctors) are expected to correctly interpret the results in their daily practice. Currently, the undergraduate hematology curriculum consists predominantly of lecture-based teaching. Because hematology combines basic science (blood cells and hemostasis physiology) and clinical skills, students report that they do not easily master hematology with only lecture-based teaching. After interviewing students at the University of Lorraine, it appeared necessary to develop new teaching approaches (methods).
OBJECTIVE
We aimed at developing and validating a serious game about CBC analysis for healthcare students. Our primary objective was to help students perceive hematology as being a playful and easy topic and for them to feel being truly involved in the taking care of their patients by analyzing blood tests. This approach in addition to the classic lecture-based teaching appeared attractive to motivate students improving their knowledge and skills in hematology.
METHODS
We developed an adventure game called SUPER HEMO®, a video game in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and problem-solving tests. After validation with beta tests on a panel of volunteer students, we provide a novel integrated teaching approach. We added 1.5 hours of gaming to the standard curriculum for a small group of volunteer students. Medical and pharmacy students in their third year of a single French university were invited to attend this extracurricular course. Pre-game and post-game tests and satisfaction surveys were immediately recorded. Final hematology exam results were analyzed.
RESULTS
86 out of 324 medical students (26.5%) and 67 out of 115 pharmacy students (58%) opted to participate. Mean results of pre and post-test were 6/10 vs 7/10 respectively for medical students, (P<0.01) and 7.5/10 vs 8/10 respectively for pharmacy students, (P<0.01). At the end of the final exam, the medical students who had played SUPER HEMO® had significantly better results (mean score: 13/20 vs 12/20, P<0.01); for pharmacy students a trend towards higher scores was observed, (mean score: 21.75/30 vs 20/30, P=0.12). Among the participants who answered the survey (n=143), more than 86% believe they had strengthened their knowledge and nearly 80% of them had fun.
CONCLUSIONS
Feedback from this game session provides evidence to support the integration of interactive teaching methods in undergraduate hematology teaching. SUPER HEMO® is intended to be entirely developed in order to become a support tool for continuing education.
CLINICALTRIAL
No