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Observational Study
. 2023 Feb 22;24(2):243-248.
doi: 10.5811/westjem.2022.11.57730.

Gamification of POCUS: Are Students Learning?

Frances M Russell  1 , Daniela Lobo  1 , Audrey Herbert  1 , Joshua Kaine  1 , Jenna Pallansch  1 , Pamela Soriano  1 , J D Adame  1 , Robinson M Ferre  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

Gamification of POCUS: Are Students Learning?

Frances M Russell et al. West J Emerg Med. .

Abstract

Introduction: While gamification of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is well received by learners, little is known about the knowledge gained from material taught during these events. We set out to determine whether a POCUS gamification event improved knowledge of interpretation and clinical integration of POCUS.

Methods: This was a prospective observational study of fourth-year medical students who participated in a 2.5-hour POCUS gamification event consisting of eight objective-oriented stations. Each station had one to three learning objectives associated with the content taught. Students completed a pre-assessment; they then participated in the gamification event in groups of three to five per station and subsequently completed a post-assessment. Differences between pre- and post-session responses were matched and analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Fisher's exact test.

Results: We analyzed data from 265 students with matched pre- and post-event responses; 217 (82%) students reported no to little prior POCUS experience. Most students were going into internal medicine (16%) and pediatrics (11%). Knowledge assessment scores significantly improved from pre- to post-workshop, 68% vs 78% (P=0.04). Self-reported comfort with image acquisition, interpretation, and clinical integration all significantly improved from pre- to post-gamification event (P<0.001).

Conclusion: In this study we found that gamification of POCUS, with clear learning objectives, led to improved student knowledge of POCUS interpretation, clinical integration, and self-reported comfort with POCUS.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: By the WestJEM article submission agreement, all authors are required to disclose all affiliations, funding sources and financial or management relationships that could be perceived as potential sources of bias. No author has professional or financial relationships with any companies that are relevant to this study. There are no conflicts of interest or sources of funding to declare.

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