Go for Gold with a Top 200 Olympic Games

By: Stephanie Tubb, PharmD, BCPS; Juanita A Draime, PharmD; and Emily Laswell, PharmD, BCPS

Set the Stage

Of concern among colleges of pharmacy in the United States are declining NAPLEX scores.¹ As the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education Standards require students to have foundational drug knowledge, finding creative ways to incorporate critical top 200 drug content into the curriculum may enhance NAPLEX preparation.² Active learning methods such as online games, and repeated retrieval practice have shown to positively impact student satisfaction and learning.^3,4 In medical education, gamification methods have improved learning, engagement, and cooperation.⁵ This approach can be implemented in pharmacy education. Therefore, Cedarville University’s School of Pharmacy implemented a Top 200 Olympic Games at the end of the second professional year (P2) as part of a required therapeutic course. The goal was for students to participate in an active review of the top 200 drugs studied throughout the year.

The Games Unfold

The Olympic Games occur during a 1.5-hour required class session. The event requires 1 main facilitator and 5 game facilitators. Students are placed into 5 groups of 5-6 students each. The session occurs as follows:

• Stretching: 7 minutes to individually review top 200 drugs
• Warm-ups: 4 minutes to complete a fill-in-the-blank brand/generic worksheet
• The Games: Teams rotate through 5 games (Table 1), with 10 minutes per game as follows: instructions (1 minute), gameplay (7 minutes), scorekeeping and re-setup (2 minutes). After each game, facilitators assign a score based on points and speed (used for tiebreaking), which the main facilitator uses for ranking.
• Accommodations were available for students with disabilities, as another team member could complete the physical activity in their place while still contributing their knowledge.
• Awards Ceremony: The top 3 teams are acknowledged, with first-place winning 3D-printed gold medals.

 Table 1: Olympic Game Descriptions

Game	Description
Memory Medley Mayhem	Focus: Brand/Generic Three memory/concentration board games are placed on the table. Each board consists of 20 cards, placed face-down, containing the brand or generic name of 10 drugs. Students flip over cards to find matches. Once a board is complete, they start on the next. Record: Number of matches, time to complete
Drug Dunk Hoops	Focus: Adverse Events >10% Twenty-two drug names are laid out on the table. Students rotate through shooting a basket. If they miss, gameplay moves to the next shooter. If they make a hoop, they select one drug on the table and take one guess as to a side effect associated with it. If correct, they get a point. If incorrect, the game moves on to the next shooter. Record: Number of points
Pharm Relay Rush	Focus: Therapeutic Indication Cups labeled with therapeutic indications are placed on one side of the room. On the other side of the room, students line up by a stack of 26 drug cards, placed face down. The first student will flip the card over and run to place it in the correct indication cup. If correct, they get a point. If incorrect, they bring the card back to the starting line and can try again. The relay continues until all drugs are placed or time runs out. Record: Number of cards placed, time to complete
Rx Rapid Sort	Focus: Black Box Warnings (BBW) Eighteen BBW cards are placed along the top of a table. The corresponding 18 drug cards are placed in a pile face down. Students flip over the cards one at a time and assign them to the correct BBW. Sorting continues until all cards are matched. Record: Number of matches, time to complete
Pharma Fact Fishbowl	Focus: Drug Facts  Thirty generic names are placed into a fishbowl. One student removes a drug name and gives clues to the group about the drug without saying the generic name in an attempt to get their team to guess the generic name. Once the drug is guessed, the student passes the fishbowl to the next player and the game continues until time is up, all generic names are identified, or time expires. Record: Number of drugs identified, time to complete.

Pass the Torch

Students provided anonymous feedback at the end of the course through a paper survey. Students responded positively, with comments such as “The review games were a fun/challenging way to incorporate the top 200,” and “I really enjoyed the session and I was also pleased with how much I remembered!” Of the 28 students who participated, 25 responded that they agreed or strongly agreed that the Olympic games improved their retention of the top 200 drug material. By continuing to actively engage students with top 200 drug content and other curricular interventions, we are optimistic for improved retention and a positive impact on NAPLEX pass rates.

How might your school ‘go for gold’ by incorporating gamification methods to empower students with essential drug knowledge and cultivate practice-ready pharmacists?

References:

1. Dell KA, Frankart LM, Ogbonna KC, DiPiro JT. Falling NAPLEX pass rates are cause for concern. Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2024;16(1):1-4.
2. Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. Accreditation standards and key elements for the professional program in pharmacy leading to the doctor of pharmacy degree. Standards 2016. https://www.acpe-accredit.org/pdf/Standards2016FINAL.pdf. Accessed May 10, 2024.
3. Arruzza E, Chau M. A scoping review of randomised controlled trials to assess the value of gamification in the higher education of health science students. J Med Imaging Radiat Sci. 2021;52(1):137-146. doi:10.1016/j.jmir.2020.10.003
4. Sánchez J, Lesmes M, Rubio M, Gal B, Tutor AS. Enhancing academic performance and student engagement in health education: insights from Work Station Learning Activities (WSLA). BMC Med Educ. 2024;24(1):496. doi:10.1186/s12909-024-05478-z
5. Krishnamurthy K, Selvaraj N, Gupta P, et al. Benefits of gamification in medical education. Clinical Anatomy. 2022;35:795–807. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/ca.23916

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Author Bio(s):

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Pulses is a scholarly blog supported by a team of pharmacy education scholars.