Gamification as a Learning Method in Pharmacy Education

Gamification can be defined as the process of adding games or game elements into something in order to encourage participation (Webster). Although the notion of learning subjects such as physiology or pharmacokinetics by playing games seems inane, it has actually been proven to help develop the skills of healthcare professionals and improve their overall confidence. Traditional lectures focus of delivering a particular topic to students with the goal of having the students then being able to apply the information in a clinical setting. The application of the material taught during school includes much more than just learning the material. It includes being able to use decision making and critical thinking skills, and being able to communicate properly both with patients and other healthcare professionals. The idea of gamification provides an additional opportunity to practice these skills by utilizing classroom time to practice applying their knowledge. These games function much like laboratory classes do, in a sense that they implement more of hands on technique and help students see how what they are taught is applied in different settings. At the University of North Carolina Pharmacy School, a study was conducted to see the effects of adding games to traditional lectures. The games were used to motivate and engage students while reinforcing previously taught material, to teach new concepts or introduce new ideas. The overall goal was that students would be able to apply the pharmacokinetic principles learned in class to different experiences that may be encountered by community or institutional pharmacist, by applying interactive group work rather than just memorization. The study assessed student’s perception of the games and concluded that most students found the games to be enjoyable and a helpful tool for gaining confidence and exposing the students to real life experiences; however, the study was inconclusive in regards to whether it helped the students increase their grades [1]. This concept is being implemented not only in pharmacy schools, but also in a variety of educational setting from a range of different educational levels. The main focus of our study was to evaluate the impact that gamification may have if implemented into pharmacy classroom education. In order to do so, we conducted a systematic review to evaluate the effects of implementing gamification in the classroom setting of various healthcare professions, and to what extent it improved student’s overall performance.