Let the Ultrasound Games Begin: Developing Knowledge and Clinical Skills With Gamification

Point of Care Ultrasonography (POCUS) is customary practice in the clinical setting. Formal training ensures competent skills using POCUS but is lacking. Preparing nurse practitioners in POCUS with gamification is an innovative educational tool.

The Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction (ARCS) model was used to implement POCUS. Learners participated in a bracket-style elimination tournament.

Learners (N = 109) in the adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner track participated. Eighty-eight Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) to Master of Science in Nursing and 21 BSN to Doctor of Nursing Practice learners. Extremely satisfied with the experience were 72.36%, 67.11% were somewhat comfortable, 10.53% were extremely comfortable, and 11.84% were somewhat uncomfortable using POCUS.

Gamification for POCUS training is a practical tool to develop knowledge and comfort using ultrasound. Adult learners retain information in various modalities and gamification offers them a multimodal learning opportunity that increases competency. [.