Incentivization and Gamification Techniques to Promote Bedside Teaching During Patient Rounds and Reduce Neurophobia

1 PROJECT PROPOSAL Project Title: Incentivization and gamification techniques to promote bedside teaching during patient rounds and reduce neurophobia Executive Summary: Background: Limited clinical teaching is identified as one of the principal drivers of neurophobia. 1 Clinical teachers face a challenge of simultaneously caring for patients and teaching learners in a time constrained environment. 2 Incentivization and gamification, on- have proven effective in educating healthcare professionals, for example, in performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. 3 4 An electronic tool for just-in-time learning piloted at Barnes Jewish Hospital improved knowledge and was well received by neurology residents. Objectives: The objectives of this study are (a) to design a mobile application (app) based on the principles of gamification and incentivization to promote and monitor teaching during neurology patient rounds; and (b) to evaluate the effect of this app level of learning and neurophobia as well as change in NBME Shelf and Residency In-service Training Examination scores. Study Design: In this observational study, a mobile application will be developed on iOS and will be freely available for mobile phone installation by all medical students, residents and attending physicians on the stroke and general neurology services at University of Kentucky Hospital (20 residents, 30 medical students). IRB approval will be obtained from University of Kentucky eIRB. During a 6-month period, the app will generate reminders to the rounding team to invoke teachable concepts at the appropriate situation and reach daily teaching goals. Teaching points include counter-intuitive concepts, common errors, rare diagnoses, complex decisions, high-yield questions for board examination, physical examination techniques, etc. and should be agreed upon by most trainees as new knowledge. Trainees type the pearls into the app to generate pearl-count and leader boards. The perception of trainees and educators will be obtained pre- and post-intervention using qualitative questionnaires. Primary outcome will be reduction in neurophobia among trainees and secondary outcome will be improvement in examination scores. Summary: This intervention will cause behavioral change in educators to promote teaching during neurology rounds. It will reduce neurophobia among trainees by improving experiential learning and teamwork. I have experience in developing a successful healthcare mobile app and wish to pursue a career in teaching neurology and to that end, I am keen on the use of innovative technological tools and AI in medical education. References: 1. Tarolli CG, Jozefowicz RF. Managing Neurophobia: How Can We Meet the Current and Future Needs of Our Students? Semin Neurol. Aug 2018;38(4):407-412. doi:10.1055/s-0038-1666987 2. Irby DM, Wilkerson L. Teaching when time is limited. BMJ. Feb 16 2008;336(7640):384-7. doi:10.1136/bmj.39456.727199.AD 3. Ahmed M, Sherwani Y, Al-Jibury O, Najim M, Rabee R, Ashraf M. Gamification in medical education. Med Educ Online. 2015;20:29536. doi:10.3402/meo.v20.29536 4. Rutledge C, Walsh CM, Swinger N, et al. Gamification in Action: Theoretical and Practical Considerations for Medical Educators. Acad Med. Jul 2018;93(7):1014-1020. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000002183