LAUSR

Study Objectives: The current world population is estimated to be over 7 5 billion and growing This rapid population growth, along with urbanization, migration, globalization, travel make us more interconnected than ever but presents new challenges in infectious diseases The World Health Organization names communicable conditions among the top 10 causes of death globally Physicians, especially emergency physicians are likely to be in the front lines of common and emerging infectious diseases as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic Among US residency specialties offering global health training, emergency medicine ranks amongst the highest of the different specialties Therefore, knowledge of infectious diseases is important for health care delivery However, teaching a wide range of topics in infectious diseases is impossible This novel game is designed to introduce many of the topics to learners of various levels and to supplement their existing learning modalities Specifically, objectives were: (1) To supplement infectious disease knowledge to what is already provided in a standard curriculum in an interactive and engaging way with a novel card based game, (2) Encourage self-directed learning of otherwise unfamiliar infectious disease topics Methods: The University of Utah residency uses the foundations of emergency medicine model for the didactic curriculum The proposed learning modality was implemented in the infectious disease block, during weeks two and four of the block A survey which employed likert scale responses and open responses was distributed to the residents to assess the game Results: After completion of this activity, while this is a small sample of residents, the card game based teaching modality met its objectives Most residents replied the game was engaging in terms of level of effort All residents felt the game improved their knowledge from prior to the game All residents also agreed or strongly agreed the game introduced a variety of infectious disease topics well including esoteric subjects All residents agreed or strongly agreed that the game stimulated curiosity and learner interest All residents agreed or strongly agreed that the game allowed for all learners to participate and was appropriate for medical students and residents Open comments stated that the game was a new fun approach to the topic, that it stimulated conversation, and that a similar modality should be done in other blocks Conclusion: The proposed card game is well suited to be implemented as a supplement to lectures The game was an engaging and interactive method to teach infectious disease topics which encouraged self-learning based on the player’s baseline knowledge More trials should be done with other residency programs, other specialties, and different levels of medical training to further investigate if these findings apply outside our program [Formula presented]