The Pit Crew Card Game: a Novel Gamification Exercise to Improve EMS Performance in Critical Care Scenarios

Background: Gamification can be defined as the use of game design elements in non-game contexts, in this case, education. As such, gamification seeks to augment the interactive approach of adult learning theory which promotes ongoing motivation and engagement. The objective of this study was to develop and implement a gamified learning module to teach the pit crew approach to Emergency Medical Services personnel in an interactive, engaging format. We created a game-based simulation scenario, an introductory video, and a post-session survey to assess the effectiveness of our educational innovation. We hypothesized that gamification would strengthen classroom engagement and attitudes toward clinical education as assessed in the post-session survey.

Methods: This was a pilot study to assess the characteristics of a novel, gamified educational session. We created teams of 5 personnel with various experience and levels of training. Our educational session began with an introductory video and the Pit Crew Card Game, a novel, interactive card game where the facilitator leads teams through a verbal scenario and administers task cards to the team leader based on interventions and other tasks the group verbalizes. After the game, teams were engaged in an interactive critical care simulation scenario where they were expected to perform tasks based on their pre-assigned roles. After the exercise, we administered a brief survey to assess learners' perceptions about the effectiveness of this novel educational session as well as whether participating in this activity would change their behaviors in future real-life critical care scenarios.

Results: 96 participants completed the post-session survey. The Pit Crew Card Game was heavily favored over traditional lecture-based learning sessions, with 84% of respondents indicating agreement. 77% agreed that the game improved their understanding of how to utilize the pit crew approach for critical care scenarios and that it was an effective teaching, teamwork, and communication tool.

Conclusion: Based on these results, we conclude that gamification has potential as a preferential and feasible learning method for critical scenario training among prehospital personnel. Participants reported that the Pit Crew Card Game increased their understanding of pit crew concepts, promoted effective communication and teamwork, and was an overall effective teaching tool. We recommend further expansion of gamified teaching strategies to the prehospital education realm and support for future research in this domain.