Empiric: A Card Game for Guideline-Based Antibiotic Prescribing Used for Continuing Medical Education

Introduction Adherence to guidelines when prescribing antibiotics can reduce antibiotic resistance and prevent adverse patient effects. However, adherence in practice is mixed. Nonadherence can be partly attributed to a lack of knowledge or understanding of guidelines. Tabletop games promote active...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Michael Cosimini, Diego Molina Ochoa, Diana Yu, Alison Chiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Association of American Medical Colleges 2025-06-01
Series:MedEdPORTAL
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mededportal.org/doi/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11533
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849330419435044864
author Michael Cosimini
Diego Molina Ochoa
Diana Yu
Alison Chiang
author_facet Michael Cosimini
Diego Molina Ochoa
Diana Yu
Alison Chiang
author_sort Michael Cosimini
collection DOAJ
description Introduction Adherence to guidelines when prescribing antibiotics can reduce antibiotic resistance and prevent adverse patient effects. However, adherence in practice is mixed. Nonadherence can be partly attributed to a lack of knowledge or understanding of guidelines. Tabletop games promote active learning of guidelines in an engaging, psychologically safe manner. While card and board games for medical education are gaining popularity, they generally target early learners. This novel workshop instead targets practitioners pursuing CME and demonstrates the utility of games for learning in a new audience. Methods A card game using a scoring system designed to emphasize the use of narrow-spectrum antibiotics and observation without antibiotics was developed iteratively over 5 years. The game was used in a series of primary care CME conferences, and evaluations were collected to assess the efficacy of the presentation and how it would impact behavior change. Results Fifty-four practicing primary care providers participated in workshops using this game over the course of two regional CME conferences. Using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree), participants rated the workshop highly in all categories, including “I will make changes in my work or practice based on the information presented.” Qualitative comments were positive, highlighting that the workshop was “helpful” and “fun.” Discussion This workshop shows that CME audiences are receptive to games and could find them useful. Serious games for CME should continue to be explored, including for educational efficacy and best practices in the pairing of educational content and game mechanics.
format Article
id doaj-art-e4d73cbd3c004d3e84a9b7f23c79e3bd
institution Kabale University
issn 2374-8265
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Association of American Medical Colleges
record_format Article
series MedEdPORTAL
spelling doaj-art-e4d73cbd3c004d3e84a9b7f23c79e3bd2025-08-20T03:46:54ZengAssociation of American Medical CollegesMedEdPORTAL2374-82652025-06-012110.15766/mep_2374-8265.11533Empiric: A Card Game for Guideline-Based Antibiotic Prescribing Used for Continuing Medical EducationMichael Cosimini0Diego Molina Ochoa1Diana Yu2Alison Chiang3Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics, Oregon Health & Science UniversitySecond-Year Pediatric Resident, Pediatric Residency Program, Oregon Health & Science UniversityPediatric Infectious Diseases Pharmacist, Department of Pharmacy, Doernbecher Children's Hospital, Oregon Health and Science UniversityAssistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics, Oregon Health & Science UniversityIntroduction Adherence to guidelines when prescribing antibiotics can reduce antibiotic resistance and prevent adverse patient effects. However, adherence in practice is mixed. Nonadherence can be partly attributed to a lack of knowledge or understanding of guidelines. Tabletop games promote active learning of guidelines in an engaging, psychologically safe manner. While card and board games for medical education are gaining popularity, they generally target early learners. This novel workshop instead targets practitioners pursuing CME and demonstrates the utility of games for learning in a new audience. Methods A card game using a scoring system designed to emphasize the use of narrow-spectrum antibiotics and observation without antibiotics was developed iteratively over 5 years. The game was used in a series of primary care CME conferences, and evaluations were collected to assess the efficacy of the presentation and how it would impact behavior change. Results Fifty-four practicing primary care providers participated in workshops using this game over the course of two regional CME conferences. Using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree), participants rated the workshop highly in all categories, including “I will make changes in my work or practice based on the information presented.” Qualitative comments were positive, highlighting that the workshop was “helpful” and “fun.” Discussion This workshop shows that CME audiences are receptive to games and could find them useful. Serious games for CME should continue to be explored, including for educational efficacy and best practices in the pairing of educational content and game mechanics.http://www.mededportal.org/doi/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11533GamesAntibioticsPediatricsInfectious DiseasesGamification
spellingShingle Michael Cosimini
Diego Molina Ochoa
Diana Yu
Alison Chiang
Empiric: A Card Game for Guideline-Based Antibiotic Prescribing Used for Continuing Medical Education
MedEdPORTAL
Games
Antibiotics
Pediatrics
Infectious Diseases
Gamification
title Empiric: A Card Game for Guideline-Based Antibiotic Prescribing Used for Continuing Medical Education
title_full Empiric: A Card Game for Guideline-Based Antibiotic Prescribing Used for Continuing Medical Education
title_fullStr Empiric: A Card Game for Guideline-Based Antibiotic Prescribing Used for Continuing Medical Education
title_full_unstemmed Empiric: A Card Game for Guideline-Based Antibiotic Prescribing Used for Continuing Medical Education
title_short Empiric: A Card Game for Guideline-Based Antibiotic Prescribing Used for Continuing Medical Education
title_sort empiric a card game for guideline based antibiotic prescribing used for continuing medical education
topic Games
Antibiotics
Pediatrics
Infectious Diseases
Gamification
url http://www.mededportal.org/doi/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11533
work_keys_str_mv AT michaelcosimini empiricacardgameforguidelinebasedantibioticprescribingusedforcontinuingmedicaleducation
AT diegomolinaochoa empiricacardgameforguidelinebasedantibioticprescribingusedforcontinuingmedicaleducation
AT dianayu empiricacardgameforguidelinebasedantibioticprescribingusedforcontinuingmedicaleducation
AT alisonchiang empiricacardgameforguidelinebasedantibioticprescribingusedforcontinuingmedicaleducation