Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start

Why are Gen-Z Students Choosing Jobs with Higher Salaries and Lower Stress Levels?

Ok, that headline was a bit sassy. Here’s the real one:

Here are the facts:

• In 2024, 92% of pediatric residency spots filled - down from 97% in 2023

• Less than half of pediatric spots (48%) in 2024 filled with US MDs

• Pediatrics is the 2nd lowest paid specialty ($260,000 average), just above diabetes and endocrinology ($256,000)

• 47% of children in the US are on Medicaid, which pays 2/3 the Medicare rate, which pays less than private insurance.

• Over a quarter (28.4%) of pediatrics fellowships went unfilled in 2024

How are we going to turn this around?

The Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs (AMSPDC) Pediatrics Workforce Initiative is working on it.

The taskforce is following recommendations from a National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine report from 2023, including:

• Give students earlier exposure to pediatrics

• Increase reimbursements, salaries, and student loan repayment options

• Reform GME and CHGME funding formulas

• Shorten fellowship training

Something’s gotta give. Kids need care.

And kids become adults.

And the care those adults received as kids will impact the care they need going forward.

This is a big problem. We’re going to need a big solution.

If you understood the subject line of this newsletter, I salute you 🫡.

If you didn’t, you probably had more friends than me in high school 🤓.

“Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start” is known as the Konami Code, and is the most famous cheat code in video game history 🕹️🎮.

I planted it as an “Easter Egg” for the gamers as a clue that we’ll be covering gamification today.

What is gamification?

🎮Gamification is the use of game-style elements in learning settings.

There are lots of game-style elements, including:

• Storylines and quests

• Rules and player controls

• Problem-solving and puzzles

• Points, badges, leaderboards

• Rewards and progress indicators

• Social dynamics and collaboration

• Chance, unpredictability, surprise

• Branching choices and consequences

• Graphics, visual cues, sound effects

• Resource scarcity, trading, transactions
  ... and more!

What does gamification look like in medical education?

It’s more than Jeopardy!, I promise.

Here are some examples:

• Empiric - the antibiotic card game

• GridlockED - Gameplay to understand ED systems

• Septris - The game that asks “what if Tetris were way more stressful?”

• Table Rounds - A card game for medical knowledge

• Mimycx - An online multi-player role-playing game with case-based quests

Of course, not all uses of gamification involve the creation of a full on product.

It can be:

• A leaderboard and prizes to encourage skills practice

• A social game that relies on collaboration

• A scholarly activity point system

Is gamification an effective educational design for MedEd?

Probably. In most cases.

The scholarship on this topic hasn’t been the most robust.

A 2023 systematic review of the literature (Salehi et al) included 53 studies (of 390) that measured the effectiveness of gamification-based interventions. Around 90% of those reported positive outcomes in knowledge acquisition, skills development, and student motivation.

There is some reason for caution, though.

Gamification strategies that rely heavily on competition might backfire, leading to undue stress and shame.

There’s no Konami Code for gamification in medical education - yet.

But there is still some fun to be had with gamification elements, especially if you encourage collaboration over competition.

Plan: Upcoming Dates & Events

• Sept 30: The World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) Abstract Submission Deadline

• Sept 30: Innovations in Medical Education Conference - Innovations and Cool Ideas or Works-in-Progress Abstract Due Date

• Oct 1 - Dec 2: Learn Serve Lead 2025: Call for Research in Medical Education (RIME) Papers

• Oct 2: Remediation of Professionalism: Working with the Disengaged Learner Webinar

• Oct 3-5: NRMP Conference

• Nov 7-8: The Generalists in Medical Education Annual Conference

• Nov 8-12: AAMC Learn Serve Lead Conference

• Dec 2: Learn Serve Lead 2025: The AAMC Annual Meeting Call for Medical Education Proposals

• Dec 15: Call for Submissions to Academic Medicine Disability Supplement

• Jan 10-14: International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH) 2025 Conference

• Jan 24: Nominations Due for American Association of Medical Colleges’ Award for Excellence in Medical Education

Want to share an upcoming event? Respond to this email directly with the date, title, and URL for more information.