The Survival of the Physiologist: A Human Anatomy and Physiology Game

Board games continue to increase in popularity and the pedagogical value of games has been repeatedly supported. Games keep students engaged and the level of engagement translates directly into time spent playing, and correspondingly, time spent reviewing course material. Therefore, game play is expected to result in greater student success. "The Survival of the Physiologist: An Anatomy and Physiology Game" was developed to involve competition between teams, with opportunities for collaboration among players. Anatomy and physiology students (n=50) rated the game 4.4 ± 0.8 on a scale of 1-5. Educators who played the game at the HAPS workshop (n= 41) rated it 3.8 ± 0.8. Additionally, beta tester educators (n=4) rated it 4.5 + 0.9 in their own classrooms. Ninety-one percent of students surveyed and 82.9 percent of educators rated it a good tool for learning the material of anatomy and physiology. Among the HAPS educators at the workshop, question coverage was ranked at 4.4 + 0.8 with 90.2% of them indicating the level of difficulty was just right. Currently we are discussing developing a computer version of the game.