Round34: Attending-Moderated Tabletop Gameplay to Enhance Resident Team Dynamics During Inpatient Rounds.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Healthcare Team Dynamics
• Gamification in Healthcare

Background:

• Inpatient medical rounds are crucial for residency education but face challenges like high team turnover and hierarchy.
• These issues can limit resident engagement, comfort in asking questions, and overall educational experience.
• Gamification presents a potential solution to these persistent problems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of Round34, a cooperative card game, on resident engagement, comfort in asking questions, and perceived educational value during medical rounds.
• The study aimed to evaluate how this game influences healthcare team dynamics.

Main Methods:

• A 22-week prospective randomized trial involved paired internal medicine teams.
• Teams were assigned to either the intervention group (playing Round34) or the control group (standard rounds).
• Daily Likert surveys measured engagement, comfort, and educational value; weekly surveys assessed burnout, well-being, and loneliness. Outcomes were analyzed using ordinal regression.

Main Results:

• The intervention group reported significantly higher scores for perceived education (8.0 vs 6.2), engagement (8.5 vs 7.1), and comfort (9.1 vs 8.2).
• No significant differences were observed in rounding time, burnout, well-being, or loneliness between groups.
• Regression analysis confirmed that gameplay was independently associated with improved outcomes.

Conclusions:

• The Round34 card game effectively enhanced perceived educational value, engagement, and comfort during inpatient medical rounds.
• The gamified approach improved key aspects of the educational experience without negatively impacting rounding time.