Objective: Gamification has emerged as an adjunct to traditional teaching methods, however, literature on its application in surgical education is limited. We sought to explore the prevalence and impact of gamification techniques among surgical trainees.
Design: A systematic review was performed to identify studies using gamification in surgical training, where gamification was defined as the use of game elements to foster competition.
Participants: Surgical residents.
Results: Twenty-two studies, including 1283 participants, described the use of gamification in surgical education. Thirteen studies focused on knowledge-based games and ten on technical skills. Gamification was associated with improvements in technical performance, knowledge acquisition, and overall engagement among surgical trainees. Additionally, satisfaction surveys indicated a positive reception of gamification as an educational tool.
Conclusions: Gamification presents a promising approach to enhancing the performance of surgical trainees in an engaging learning environment.
Keywords: Curriculum; Gamification; Simulation; Surgical education; Surgical training; Technical skills.
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