A Serious Game for Patient’ Rights Education

The knowledge and the implementation of patients' rights are fundamental in health professional practices. Courses for healthcare students are often taught using a lecture format. Yet, students find it difficult to understand the importance of legal concepts and apply it to their future practice. In order to promote learner centered teaching practices and encourage knowledge acquisition and practical skills development, the “Patient's Rights & Innovative Teaching Strategy (PRITS)” project aimed at developing a serious game dedicated to patients' rights education. To design and develop this serious game and the associated learning concept, we set up a multidisciplinary team of experts from the fields of healthcare, law, education and engineering. A collaborative methodology was used to ensure the coherent development of all games and learning elements. The PRITS serious game integrates knowledge about patients' rights into dialogues with virtual patients. It also provides additional resources and exercises related to the topics. The learning experience intends to challenge students' mental models and support a transition from “quality of care only” to “quality of care and respect of patients' rights”.