(28) Integration of Pharmaceutical Sciences Disciplines at the End of the Semester Through Gamification

Objective : To design, implement, and assess an integrated virtual escape room that integrates pharmaceutical sciences courses (Pharmacokinetics, biopharmaceutics, principles of drug action, medicinal chemistry, and pharmacogenomics) at the end of the semester to improve students’ interconnectivity among disciplines.

Methods: A virtual escape room was developed to reinforce key concepts in the disciplines listed above. Coordinators met and developed integrated puzzles subsequently uploaded into a google form. Puzzles had to be correctly solved prior to advancing to the next level. This activity was offered to students at the end of the semester, after completion of each of the specific discipline modules. Students worked in small groups in the classroom to solve puzzles. Students were asked to complete a pre- and post-survey to assess knowledge and perceptions of the activity.

Results: Fifty-five students (96%) completed the pre- and post-surveys. Most of the students strongly agreed/agreed that this activity was amenable to learning and applying information (95%) and more helpful than traditional lecture to review concepts (85%). Students ranked this activity with 8.5 ± 1.1 (0 to 10) as a tool that helped them to identify their strengths as well as their knowledge gaps (8.5 ± 1.4). They also reported that it helped them to better understand (8.4 ± 1.1) and apply (8.3 ± 1.2) concepts learned during the semester. Although open-ended comments revealed that students found helpful to review material in a relaxed way before finals’ week, 15 pre-post knowledge questions did not show an improvement that was statistically significant.

Conclusions: This educational approach was well received by the students. Implementation of additional mechanisms of assessment to develop fuller integration and critical thinking scenarios are being explored.