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Creating GridlockED: A Serious Game for Teaching About Multipatient Environments
Daniel Tsoy1, Paula Sneath, Josh Rempel
1D. Tsoy is a resident physician, Family Medicine, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; at the time of this project, he was a medical student, Niagara Campus of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. P. Sneath is a resident physician, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Emergency Medicine Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; at the time of this project, she was a medical student, Niagara Campus of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. J. Rempel is a resident physician, Family Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; at the time of this project, he was a medical student, Niagara Campus of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. S. Huang is a medical student, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. N. Bodnariuc is a baccalaureate student, Bachelor of Health Sciences Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. M. Mercuri is assistant professor, Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8070-9615. A. Pardhan is associate professor, Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Medicine and Department of Pediatrics; program director, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Emergency Medicine Program, McMaster University; and physician site lead, Hamilton General Hospital Emergency Department, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. T.M. Chan is assistant professor, Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Medicine; teacher, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine; adjunct scientist, McMaster Education Research, Innovation, and Theory (MERIT) Center; and program director, Clinician Educator Area of Focused Competency Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6104-462X.
Problem:
As patient volumes increase, it is becoming increasingly important to find novel ways to teach junior medical learners about the intricacies of managing multiple patients simultaneously and about working in a resource-limited environment.
Approach:
Serious games (i.e., games not intended purely for fun) are a teaching modality that have been gaining momentum as teaching tools in medical education. From May 2016 to August 2017, the authors designed and tested a serious game, called GridlockED, to provide a focused educational experience for medical trainees to learn about multipatient care and patient flow. The game allows as many as six people to play it at once. Gameplay relies on the players working collaboratively (as simulated members of a medical team) to triage, treat, and disposition "patients" in a manner that simulates true emergency department operations. After researching serious games, the authors developed the game through an iterative design process. Next, the game underwent preliminary peer review by experienced gamers and practicing clinicians, whose feedback the authors used to adjust the game. Attending physicians, nurses, and residents have tested GridlockED for usability, fidelity, acceptability, and applicability.
Outcomes:
On the basis of initial testing, clinicians suggest that this game will be useful and has fidelity for teaching patient-flow concepts.
Next Steps:
Further play testing will be needed to fully examine learning opportunities for various populations of trainees and for various media. GridlockED may also serve as a model for developing other games to teach about processes in other environments or specialties.
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