Physician Assistant Student Attitudes Toward Gamification of Cardiac Auscultation Instruction

Current physician assistant (PA) learners have a clear preference for interactive learning that is vibrantly present in new media technologies. At present, there is a paucity of research regarding use or acceptability of gamification in PA education. The purpose of this study was to examine PA students' experience with, attitudes toward, and outcomes of a gamified cardiac auscultation curriculum.

Faculty at one institution designed an interactive Mobile App Cardiac Auscultation Curriculum (MACAC). The MACAC incorporates independent and group learning using the Littmann Learning mobile app. Author-created surveys as well as knowledge and auscultation assessment tools were delivered to all students.

Most of the students recommended the use of the app for future cohorts and reported confidence to accurately identify normal and abnormal heart sounds. Knowledge and auscultation assessment scores demonstrated proficiency in identification of normal and abnormal heart sounds.

Gamification research is important because blended learning that incorporates new media technologies with traditional approaches can help overcome the limitations of passive learning environments. This study provides evidence that the use of a mobile app can be an effective and innovative method to teach cardiac auscultation to the 21st century PA learners.