Medical Gaming!

It's been a crazy week! My results came out and I'm glad to announce I've passed! 

On top of that, I had a pretty busy week in the wards. Critically ill patients were running rampant in my ward and an extremely busy call - no sleep at all T.T

That aside, I've just recovered from an extremely good sleep, productive exercise and healthy food. My mood is perfect now. 

Of course, life would suck if you just maintain a healthy lifestyle, play, work hard, learn, only to repeat. Why not try something in between learning and play? 

Long ago, I have searched high and low looking to a perfect list of games (I didn't mind simple!) for medical professionals. Lo and behold, here are my top 5! Most importantly, they are (mostly) be free!

Here are a few medical games I would like to recommend. This is legit medical gaming, not some BS like Surgeon Simulator - I would categorise that as a hack and slash game.

1. Microbe Invader

Developed by Li Tao (Artwork by his girlfriend). This game is all about you in the world of microbiology. Technically, you "Gotta kill them all!" It's a nice fusion of RPG and microbiology. 

You start off in a fictional place called Happy Town where citizens are made not so happy by everyday bugs, viruses, fungi, etc. It's your job as the new doctor in town to solve their problems! 

The controls are fairly straight forward and any newbie gamer would be able to master it without reading a manual. Just bump into anyone to say hello! You can save anytime and always create a save file in your browser or keep it offline (backup) - just like pokemon games on emulators.

Learning point: 

Make connections between bugs and what antibiotics historically / still works for them. Although bacteria evolve, most of the stuff is still relevant in day to day clinical practice. Of course, there are certain agar tests offered (for example) have more historical value and there are more modern tests are available with better yields. 

You score points by ordering fewer tests, making you rely on your clinical knowledge to solve the problem. Any white coat clinician can order everything under the sun but only a few can diagnose the patient by talking and touching them. ;)  

Note that this game runs on Flash, which Adobe plans to discontinue by the end of this year. I certainly do hope Li Tao has plans to make a new one that is relevant in 2021!

2. ECG Simulator (by SKILLSTAT)

SKILLSTAT mainly caters for the emergency medicine subspecialty, but learning the basics of emergency medicine can take you a long way. 

This one one of the free games that they offer. If you're suspicious if I have tricked you into taking more timed MCQs then you're absolutely RIGHT! HAHA

Bear in mind though, in real-life ACLS situations, you do need to interpret what is going on just by looking at the cardiac monitor. Therefore, I wouldn't say it isn't an inaccurate simulator - you ARE doing it under some time constrain with the beeps going off! The only thing lacking are the anxious family members or deteriorating patients in front of you. (I'm sure you can imagine that up XD)

3. Body Interact - Stroke (Under the Angels Initiative / Angel Academy)

This is truly well made. You could see the effort it took to craft each scenario. Of course, the developer didn't have to put audio files of "ughs" "eeeee" or to craft a patient. They could just type a scenario like how PasTest / PassMedicine did and sell it for a high price - which they didn't. I am grateful. 

It does take a while to load and it will only run on Google Chrome or Firefox. It is always available on the app store. I seriously wouldn't blame them if they plan to charge for some courses but some of it is available for free!

I mainly use it to practice my stroke protocols, which are very useful when it comes to doing oncalls in the ED. You will need to supplement that with learning how to perform a proper NIHSS score. You will need to create a free account in order to use it. 

You can learn more about Angels Initiative here.

4. LevelEx series - Android ; iOS

I am totally mind blown. The company made great virtual simulations of important, highly specialised procedures for Cardio, Chest, Airway and Gastro. Although they are specialised, I would recommend trying them out because they offer a unique experience. (Hell, the graphics is insanely good and it's free!) 

It has controls like any other First Person Shooter (FPS) games and scores your performance from 1 - 3 stars. Of course, you wouldn't need to learn fibreoptic intubation or endoscopy in real life if you aren't in any of the above fields. It definitely doesn't prepare you for the real scenario (you need real practice) but it does offer a decent insight on the experience and skill set needed. 

You probably need a mid-high range mobile device to run this app. You will also need to download every stage, hence a lot of storage space! It is available on iOS and Android. I believe the video is self-explanatory.  

5. Touch Surgery - Android ; iOS

I would rate high for this app. It is one of my go-to resources to learn procedures the right way. The others being YouTube, seniors, Youtube, Youtube [you get what I mean ;)]. It isn't really a game strictly per se. It is more of an interactive video, each I would call a "module". It is still pretty good.

There are in-app purchases. Creating a simulation like that takes a lot of time and work, especially if it involves medical education, hence I wouldn't blame them for charging some procedures. The basic procedures like Lumbar Punctures or Chest tube insertion are free, and that is sufficient for me. 

It is a surgical based application, so if you are not planning to go into surgery, edging on the free side is quite sufficient. 

You still need to have a mid-high range mobile phone and much memory. You will need to download each module.