JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Staff turnover remains a significant challenge for hospital departments, especially in environments as demanding as emergency departments (EDs). High staff turnover (up to 22% annually) imposes significant strains on existing teams, delaying operational readiness and jeopardizing care quality.

Objective:

To address these challenges, we developed a gamified simulation designed to immerse future employees in a virtual reconstruction of the hospital’s facilities.

Methods:

This solution, deployed as an online platform, empowers new staff to efficiently familiarize themselves with key operational aspects such as premises, equipment, and personnel through engaging interactive quests. Additionally, a complementary web application allows medical teams to adapt the simulation to reflect evolving departmental needs (e.g., new quests, rewards, avatars, quizzes, and equipment) without IT intervention.

Results:

Initial user tests yielded positive feedback, suggesting the potential to reduce on-boarding time by 30 to 40%. For a department with 100 staff members and a turnover rate of 22\%.

Conclusions:

This could save approximately 2,500 staff-hours annually, equivalent to reallocating nearly 1.3 full-time positions to patient care. This paper thoroughly examines the conceptual design, initial outcomes, and strategic considerations for scaling this solution, substantiated by detailed figures and technical analyses.