Bringing the Fun Factor to Learning at Euroanaesthesia through Serious Games

Carolyn Weiniger, Ruth Shaylor
ruth@shaylor.co.uk

See one do one teach one is the way many of us today learned anaesthesia techniques. But this era has passed. Didactic lectures are important, enabling information to be succinctly presented and given to a largely receptive audience. Appealing and useful audiovisuals can enhance these lectures, enabling participants to take home succinct messages, and share them on Social Media. Yet didactic lectures do not enable the learner an opportunity to apply newly acquired information in a practical environment. Healthcare is rapidly adopting simulation as an essential learning tool that enables a hands-on approach, through active engagement. Whilst simulation is an excellent teaching tool, specialised and often expensive equipment is required.

Serious Games, are a combination of Problem Based Learning Discussions and an Escape Room. They use short fun-focused games to teach clinical information and develop management skills in a non-clinical environment. They have become a popular healthcare training strategy (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34659959/), and their use increased further during the Covid-19 pandemic as novel distanced learning strategies were required (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34659959/).

Serious Games may be played online or in-person; using puzzles and other games, or using practical skills such as chest compressions (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35158135/). Serious Games have been used to teach visual-spatial skills and can enable simulated learning via mobile devices (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35152899/). They also introduce a fun factor to learning (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32989581/).

Serious Games can enable training for participants who have less exposure to clinical cases, yet who require high skill levels (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28133947/) Generally, participants report high satisfaction levels with learning through Serious Games.

This year at Euroanaesthesiaology 2022, the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) will present a new learning track, Serious Games. This novel educational experience can be reproduced in any healthcare setting on any budget. The Serious Games introduced in the upcoming Euroanaesthesiaiology 2022 conference will focus on two core subspecialties, obstetric and paediatric anaesthesia. They were developed by a passionate group of educators from the Tel Aviv Anesthesia Simulation Team (TAST) from the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv Israel, the Simulation Committee of EASIC and the ESAIC Trainee Network.

Participants will play games built with specific learning points that will introduce diagnostic, interpretation and management challenges through one developing case scenario. The Serious Games were built around team activities, with specific learning objectives (Figures 1 and 2). Through a number of specifically designed games, the learning objectives will be achieved through fun play in a team environment. Each game will conclude with a debrief to reinforce the learning goals of the specific game before moving on to the next game for the case. Challenges must be solved and debrief completed at each level before participants may progress to the next game. As in real life, participants will work in teams to achieve success and learning goals.

Each session will take place over a two-hour period with up to 18 participants. The games are intended for practising anaesthesiologists of all levels who manage emergency paediatric or obstetric cases and will focus on practical aspects of emergency management of these cases

Overall learning goals for the games are to recognise the case acuity, create a plan and discuss care conundrums associated with case management. This pioneering methodology is geared towards anaesthesiologists of all levels; trainees, fellows and attendings, who learn best through action, not just through the ears. The Serious Games will challenge participants and will develop teamwork, leadership, decision-making skills in our novel fun learning environment

The Serious Games will take place in a dedicated area within the Exhibition Hall, and non-participants will be only able to view the activities, from the outside. You may register for Serious Games through the Euroanaesthesiaology website, and more details are available here https://euroanaesthesia2022.org/serious-games/.

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