Enhancing the Graduate Nursing Student Experience Through Gamification.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Nursing Education
• Health Professions Education

Background:

• Gamification, applying game design to non-game settings, enhances participation and learning.
• Traditional methods may not fully optimize student motivation and knowledge retention in intensive courses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of gamification on nursing students' learning outcomes.
• To assess changes in student knowledge, confidence, and motivation after a gamified intervention.

Main Methods:

• A gamification intervention was implemented during a regional anesthesia intensive course.
• Students engaged in team-based competitions involving knowledge, critical thinking, and ultrasound skills.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant increase in post-intervention student knowledge was observed.
• Student confidence and motivation levels showed significant improvement after the gamified learning experience.

Conclusions:

• Gamification effectively enhances student motivation and confidence in nursing education.
• This approach can help reduce knowledge gaps and improve learning in specialized medical training.