JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The potential risk and subsequent impact of serious complications after pancreatic and colorectal surgery can be significantly reduced through early recognition, correct assessment, and timely initiation of appropriate therapy. Serious gaming (SG) is an innovative teaching method that combines play with knowledge acquisition, increased concentration, and quick decision-making, and could therefore be used for clinically-oriented education.

Objective:

This study aims to design a case-based SG platform for complication management in pancreatic and colorectal surgery, to validate the application by comparing game courses of various professional groups in the health care sector, and to test the acceptance of the developed platform in the context of clinical education.

Methods:

Six realistic patient cases were implemented. Following a brief case presentation, participants were asked to triage the virtual patient, make an initial suspected diagnosis, and design a three-step management plan, throughout which the results of selected diagnostic and therapeutic actions were presented. Participants’ proposed case management was compared to ideal case management according to clinical guidelines. Usability, applicability, validity, and acceptance of the application was assessed in an anonymized, prospective, open, observational study.

Results:

A total of 131 cases were answered. Physicians selected more appropriate therapeutic measures than non-physicians. Design, structure, relevance, timeliness, and interest promotion were predominantly rated positively. Most participants perceived the application to be superior to conventional lecture-based formats (training courses, lectures, seminars) in terms of problem-solving skills (78%), self-reflection (78%), and usability and applicability (80%).

Conclusions:

Case-based SG has educative potential for complication management in surgery and could thereby contribute to improvements in postoperative patient care.