Simulation Game Versus Multiple Choice Questionnaire to Assess the Clinical Competence of Medical Students: Prospective Sequential Trial

Abstract

Background The use of simulation games (SG) to assess the clinical competence of medical students has been poorly studied. Objective The objective of this study was to assess whether an SG better reflects the clinical competence of medical students than a multiple choice questionnaire (MCQ). Methods Fifth-year medical students in Paris (France) were included and individually evaluated on a case of pediatric asthma exacerbation using three successive modalities: high-fidelity simulation (HFS), considered the gold standard for the evaluation of clinical competence, the SG Effic’Asthme, and an MCQ designed for the study. The primary endpoint was the median kappa coefficient evaluating the correlation of the actions performed by the students between the SG and HFS modalities and the MCQ and HFS modalities. Student satisfaction was also evaluated. Results Forty-two students were included. The actions performed by the students were more reproducible between the SG and HFS modalities than between the MCQ and HFS modalities (P=.04). Students reported significantly higher satisfaction with the SG (P<.01) than with the MCQ modality. Conclusions The SG Effic’Asthme better reflected the actions performed by medical students during an HFS session than an MCQ on the same asthma exacerbation case. Because SGs allow the assessment of more dimensions of clinical competence than MCQs, they are particularly appropriate for the assessment of medical students on situations involving symptom recognition, prioritization of decisions, and technical skills. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03884114; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03884114

Implementation strategies for high‐performance health care simulation centres: A multicentre exploratory case study in China

“…Among them, task trainers were used for simple clinical skills training. Standardised patients and software‐based simulation, for example, gamification, were used to train clinical reasoning 10 . High‐fidelity manikins such as SimMan set up more complex scenarios for clinical skills and non‐technical skill training.…”

“…Standardised patients and software-based simulation, for example, gamification, were used to train clinical reasoning. 10 High-fidelity manikins such as SimMan set up more complex scenarios for clinical skills and nontechnical skill training. Some centres such as Centre Zeta began to use virtual reality (VR) in training and assessment.…”

“…(i) curriculum development using simulation-based technologies such as interactive case-based learning 7 and virtual reality, 8,9 (ii) SBHPE learning outcomes assessment, [10][11][12][13][14] and (iii) simulation-based technology application in research. 15,16 However, an HSC implementation is broader than these three streams.…”

“…Therefore, successful implementation of HSCs is of great interest to stakeholders such hospital leadership and policymakers. The extant medical education literature related to HSCs has mainly focused on SBHPE and falls into one of the three streams: (i) curriculum development using simulation‐based technologies such as interactive case‐based learning 7 and virtual reality, 8,9 (ii) SBHPE learning outcomes assessment, 10–14 and (iii) simulation‐based technology application in research 15,16 . However, an HSC implementation is broader than these three streams.…”

Gamification in Diplomacy Studies as an Effective Tool for Knowledge Transfer: Questionnaire Study

“…SGs combine the features of serious games and simulation and have emerged as powerful tools to improve learning outcomes, by facilitating a better understanding of specific issues, via simulated experience [ 3 - 6 ]. Garris et al [ 7 ] argued that both serious game design and the gamification of learning increase learning outcomes, either directly (games) or indirectly through an alteration of contextual learner behavior.…”