Enhancing medical education with serious gaming

One of the primary challenges in education is to keep students engaged when covering subjects outside their primary field of interest. In medical education, topics like digital health and Artificial Intelligence (AI) , can be met with varying levels of enthusiasm. To address this, we developed a serious board game called ‘AI Hospital’.
In this low-cost, low-tech game, players follow a fictional patient in their journey through the healthcare system. Guided by a game leader, players discuss various aspects of implementing AI in healthcare, including ethical, legal, and societal aspects (ELSA). The points gained per step are based on how well players consider the ELSA, as well as the preferences of the patient and healthcare professional in each step of the journey.
This design allows students to learn together and immediately apply knowledge conveyed in the feedback from previous steps, thus providing opportunity to organically learn the most important aspects of AI in healthcare. The game also stimulates critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
User feedback so far is very positive. The comments highlight the lack of basic knowledge and demystification of AI in medical education. Players indicate this serious game may be a valuable tool to prepare future medical professionals to work in an era where digital health technologies are a necessity. Since the current format requires a game facilitator for every discussion group, future development should focus on scalability.
Serious gaming is a concept with the potential to offer an engaging format, allowing students to explore the intersection of AI and healthcare, gaining basic knowledge, and practicing critical thinking skills.