Games as a learning support resource in medical education
Keywords:
education, medical; learning; play and playthings; simulation training; game-based learning; gamificationAbstract
Background: Contemporary medical training demands methodologies that promote participation, clinical reasoning, and sustained academic engagement. In this context, games, serious games, and gamification have gained visibility as pedagogical resources in the health sciences, following the review of pedagogical models prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Objective: To reflect critically on the value of games as a learning support resource in medical education, drawing on recent literature.
Opinion: Games contribute to medical education when integrated with a clear purpose, curricular coherence, psychological safety, frequent feedback, and formative assessment. Their value goes beyond motivation: they also foster engagement, emotional well-being, deliberate practice, and collaborative work. Nevertheless, the evidence shows methodological limitations, conceptual heterogeneity, and a frequent reduction of student engagement to superficial behavioral indicators.
Conclusions: Games are relevant to medical education when recognized as a learning support tool rather than a recreational accessory, particularly when they converge with simulation and active methodologies. Their incorporation, with promising projection in military medicine, should be critical, context-sensitive, inclusive, and evidence-based.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Claudia Elena Cerpa Donoso, Manuel Enrique Cortés Cortés, Pablo Solórzano Marchant, Ramón López Martín, Teresa Consuelo San-Miguel Díez, María José Muñoz González, Alexis Matheu Pérez
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