Perceived benefits and limitations of game-based simulation education by osteopathy students in early clinical training: A preliminary mixed methods study

Background: Game-based simulation education is becoming an integral component in healthcare programs. It is defined as any educational activity implying simulation procedures to recreate clinical scenarios. Previous studies have shown that simulation can improve patient safety by enhancing healthcare providers' competencies. However, few studies have investigated students' perceptions of simulation within osteopathic programs. Aim: This study aimed to measure and compare Year three osteopathy students' perceptions of a game-based simulation versus traditional clinical training. Methods: Year three students at the end of their 12 weeks clinical training were invited to participate in this research project. This included filling out a Likert-based survey and semi-structured interviews. Three clinical training modalities were implemented and evaluated: a demonstration clinic, a video-streamed demonstration clinic, and a game-based simulation, the clinical battle. Results: Sixty-seven Year three osteopathy students completed the surveys, and eight students were interviewed. The clinical battle was significantly felt as the most engaging, most useful to gain feedback, and least stressful of the three training modalities proposed (p < 0.05). The clinical battle was also perceived as similar to a demonstration clinic in formulating a diagnosis and for reflective practice (p > 0.05). The semi-structured interviews offered deep structured explanatory narratives drawn from thematic analyses. Five themes were identified: engagement, clinical reasoning improvement, stress, ideas for improving clinical training, and reflective practice and self-assessment. Conclusion: The simulation-based training implemented in this study was positively perceived by students for their clinical education. Future research could focus on the effectiveness of game-based simulation versus traditional training on clinical competencies acquisition.