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Games as teaching tools in a surgical residency
Sarkis Meterissian1, Moishe Liberman, Peter McLeod
1Division of General Surgery, Montreal, Canada. sarkis.meterissian@muhc.mcgill.ca
Medical Teacher
|December 26, 2007
Summary
Interactive games like "Who wants to be a Surgeon" and "Senior Face-off" enhanced surgical resident education. While enjoyable, competitive games may cause undue stress for senior residents.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Surgical Training
- Pedagogy
Background:
- Traditional didactic lectures are standard in surgical residency.
- Concerns exist regarding the educational effectiveness of passive learning methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate an innovative interactive, games-based learning approach in surgical residency.
- To compare resident engagement and satisfaction with traditional lectures.
Main Methods:
- Developed two games: "Who wants to be a Surgeon" (WS) and "Senior Face-off" (SF).
- Assessed impact via an end-of-year questionnaire.
- Analyzed resident enjoyment, teaching quality, and preference.
Main Results:
- Both games received high ratings for enjoyment, teaching quality, and preference over lectures.
- WS significantly increased interest in junior residents (p=0.015).
- Senior residents reported higher stress levels with both games compared to junior residents (p<0.05).
Conclusions:
- The games-based teaching technique successfully promoted learner interest and was deemed valuable.
- Competitive game elements may induce significant stress in senior surgical residents.