Candy Gland: A Diabetes Board Game for Medical Students

Abstract

Introduction Diabetes mellitus can be a challenging topic for medical students. Educational games can engage students, encourage collaboration and peer teaching, and support friendly competition. To enhance student training on diabetes diagnosis and management, we developed a flashcard-style board game to review these concepts and provide a formative assessment. Methods In this 50-minute session, 102 second-year medical students used a game board and playing cards to compete in small groups. To play, teams took turns answering flashcard-style playing cards and moved forward on the board with correct answers. The first team to reach the end of the board won. Students completed a survey about their confidence in the topic and a multiple-choice test before and after the session to measure the effectiveness of this intervention. Results Medical knowledge scores improved from 7.3 before the intervention to 8.0 after (10-point scale, p < .001). Students’ ratings of their confidence in diabetes pharmacology, diagnosis, and management all improved (ps < .05 for all), with the greatest improvement seen in pharmacology. Student satisfaction ratings and narrative feedback were very positive. Discussion This educational game effectively improved student knowledge and confidence in diabetes diagnosis, pharmacology, and management in an engaging, unique session. The intervention would be easy for other institutions to implement.

Keywords

• Diabetes Mellitus
• Games
• Gamification
• Endocrinology
• Pharmacology & Toxicology