Does Game-Based Learning Promote Academic Engagement Among Millennial Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residents?

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: House staff participating in surgical residency programs are often comprised of adult learners from the millennial generation (Gen Y). With the increasing gap in both age and learning styles between these residents and their educators, their educators are struggling to keep them academically engaged. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to measure the association between implementing a digital online Jeopardy! (Sony Pictures Studios, Culver City, CA) style game (digital game) (Factile Solace Creative, LLC, Melbourne Beach, FL) into oral maxillofacial surgery (OMS) resident didactic training and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery In-service Training Examination (OMSITE) scores. STUDY DESIGN, SETTING, SAMPLE This study was a retrospective cohort study conducted at The New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medicine. OMS residents who took the OMSITE examination were included in the study. Exclusion criteria included OMS residents who did not take the OMSITE in a given year. INDEPENDENT VARIABLE The independent variable was the timing of the implementation of the digital game, divided into before and after implementation. MAIN OUTCOME VARIABLES The primary outcome variable was OMSITE scores. COVARIATES Covariates included demographics (age, gender, and race), year of training, and number of examination attempts. ANALYSES Descriptive and bivariate statistics included Fisher's exact test and Wilcoxon rank sum test. Linear mixed modeling was performed to take into account multiple observations per participants. RESULTS: The sample composed of 14 resident subjects with a median age of 27.5 (27.0, 28.7) years. Females represented 29% of the cohort. Seventy-one percent of the participants were Post Graduate Year 1. The median (interquartile range) OMSITE score preimplementation 61 (48, 71) and postimplementation 79 (68, 87). On average, the OMSITE scores improved significantly following the implementation of this study modality (P < .001). CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE Digital games may be an effective learning tool to prepare residents for OMSITE by promoting academic engagement.