HealthLeaders Media (08/25/22) Wicklund, Eric

Level Ex medical director Eric Gantwerker, MD, MMSc, FACS, says healthcare organizations can enhance continuing medical education (CME) with video games and gamification. Video games "are built on deep knowledge and understanding of how to activate and stimulate the brain to induce learning," he explains. Gantwerker notes that video games can bring an entertaining element that may be lacking in conventional CME. "For more challenging, experience-based interactions in medicine, such as performing a knee replacement operation or diagnosing a skin disease, the power of video games to create mental models and build [three-dimensional] spatial skills helps physicians actively make sense of the complexity through play," he says. Gantwerker acknowledges that the perception of video games as simple, child-like entertainment can be an obstacle in their use for CME. "There continues to be a lack of understanding by educators and faculty that video games aren't just for kids," he adds. "In fact, they are a powerful educational tool and often better than reading an article or chapter or sitting in a lecture." Certain applications of game elements or gamification do not lend themselves well to CME, which Gantwerker says "leads both the public and discerning educators to believe that games aren't as powerful as traditional learning methods, which is not true." He advises healthcare leaders to "always give games a chance — the risk is low and the reward can be quite high. Put a well-designed game head-to-head with any other learning modality and you'll see the advantages of time, enjoyment, and depth of understanding."

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