Serious Games Teach First-Hand Aid
Advanced Life Support Group, a Manchester-based charity group, has developed a serious game to help educate medical professionals in the training courses they provide. A report from the Guardian Unlimited describes the training scenario: “In the game a major explosion has left people injured around the imaginary city’s streets. Doctors have to navigate to the bodies and assess patients’ treatment priority based on breathing, circulation and pulse rates.” “It is not a game to be used in isolation but it does offer another way of teaching doctors to deal with major incidents,” said Bryan Tregunna, a consultant instructional designer for the developer, Vega. Steve Jarvis of Vega hopes by using “Games to engage people, we have the potential to create more effective training and learning.” Developers are eager to provide a first-hand method of training, teaching the player real-world skills through a game’s engaging nature.
Photo of the Triage video game courtesy of TruSim.