Investigators
Dr. Celine Latulipe
Principal Investigator, Department of Computer Science
celine.latulipe@umanitoba.ca
Dr. Rizwan Manji
Co-Investigator, Department of Surgery
rizwan.manji@umanitoba.ca
Richard Shalchi
Research Assistant, Department of Computer Science
shalchir@myumanitoba.ca
Recruitment
Medical trainees in Manitoba are invited to participate in an online focus group study about the use of ‘serious games’ for medical training. Serious games allow players to engage in activities that allow them to practice skills and acquire knowledge that can be applied to specific domains in real life. The purpose of this focus group study is to gather information from medical students/residents/fellows about how serious games can be used to assist them in learning critical content and skills for their profession. This information can be used to guide the development of technologies to allow game developers to create games that address real needs in medical training.
Each participant will attend a single focus group on UM-licensed Zoom that will last up to 90 minutes and will be compensated with $25 via e-transfer. The purpose of this focus group study is to gather information from medical students/residents/fellows about how serious games can be used to assist them in learning critical content and skills for their profession. This information will be used to guide the development of technologies to allow game developers to create games that address real needs in medical training. In particular, we hope to develop a prototype game that focuses on diagnostic reasoning, based on feedback gathered during the focus groups. To be eligible, you must be a current medical trainee (medical student, resident or fellow) in Manitoba and you must be willing to show your medical trainee ID at the beginning of the focus group for verification.
We hope to publish our findings in a conference or journal using gaming technology for education and training. If you have any questions, please reach out to Celine Latulipe at: celine.latulipe@umanitoba.ca.
This research has been approved by the University of Manitoba Research Ethics Board, Fort Garry Campus. If you have any concerns or complaints about this project you may contact any of the above-named persons or the Human Ethics Coordinator at 204-474-7122 or humanethics@umanitoba.ca.
Consent Form
Focus Group Consent Form Link Study now concluded.
Final Report
In this study, we explored how medical trainees envision a serious game integrating into their professional training and daily lives, specifically focusing on diagnostic reasoning. Diagnostic reasoning is a critical skill in medicine that relies on both knowledge and reasoning, and takes practice to develop but also has high risk consequences when someone fails. Serious games offer a proven, effective learning method within a lower stress environment compared to simulation labs or real world training. Through focus groups with medical trainees, we investigated key preferences regarding game design and where serious games may fit within education. Our findings reveal a strong preference for mobile-based platforms over VR experiences. Participants placed high emphasis on implementing storylines, rewards, engagement mechanisms, comprehensive feedback, and ensuring that the barrier of entry is as low as possible. Notably, the “daily case” feature emerged as a favoured mechanism to encourage players to play daily and discuss the case with their classmates and colleagues. Based on these insights, we developed prototypes using Figma to serve as a foundation for the future development of diagnostic reasoning serious games.
Computing Creatively 