Night Shift for Traumatic Injury

Overseen By Mary Beth Ryabik, RN

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh

Disqualifiers: Non-physicians, Trauma center physicians, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 2

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial aims to determine if a specially designed video game helps emergency room doctors at non-trauma centers better adhere to trauma care guidelines. The game, called Night Shift, allows doctors to play as a character managing emergency situations, enhancing their skills and guideline compliance. Some doctors will play the game, while others will continue with their usual education. The trial seeks board-certified doctors who work exclusively in emergency departments at non-trauma centers in the US and handle adult trauma cases. As an unphased trial, this study offers doctors a unique opportunity to enhance their skills in a novel way, potentially improving patient outcomes.

Do I need to stop taking my current medications for the trial?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

What prior data suggests that this video game is safe for emergency medicine physicians?

Research shows that the Night Shift video game is safe for participants. The game enhances doctors' ability to identify serious injuries. Studies have found that playing Night Shift causes no harm. In fact, earlier trials showed it increased doctors' willingness to transfer patients when necessary, without negative health effects. The game has been tested with doctors and developed with input from medical experts and game designers. Participants can trust that playing Night Shift is a safe experience. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about the "Night Shift" treatment because it uses a video game approach to help medical professionals handle traumatic injuries. Unlike the usual educational methods, which rely on traditional continuing medical education, Night Shift immerses players in a virtual adventure where they make real-time decisions as an emergency medicine physician. This interactive and engaging format aims to enhance learning and retention, offering potentially more dynamic and impactful training for medical professionals. By incorporating game-based learning, Night Shift may transform how emergency medicine skills are taught and refined.

What evidence suggests that the Night Shift video game is effective for improving compliance with trauma triage guidelines?

Research has shown that playing the Night Shift video game, which participants in this trial may receive, can help emergency doctors make better decisions about trauma patients. Studies found that doctors who played the game became more skilled at deciding when to send injured patients to specialized trauma centers. The game enhances doctors' ability to identify serious injuries by improving pattern recognition. It proved more effective than traditional learning methods. These findings suggest that the Night Shift game could be a useful tool for improving trauma care in hospitals that don't specialize in trauma. Meanwhile, participants in the other arm of this trial will receive their usual continuing medical education without additional interventions. ^{1 2 3 6 7}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Deepika Mohan, MD

Principal Investigator

University of Pittsburgh

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for board-certified emergency medicine physicians who work in non-trauma centers within the continental US and are responsible for triaging adult trauma patients. It's not open to non-physician healthcare workers, doctors working at both trauma and non-trauma centers, or those practicing outside the continental US.

Inclusion Criteria

You are a board-certified US physician who solely works in the ED of non-trauma centers and manages adult trauma patients.

Exclusion Criteria

Physicians who work outside the continental US

Physicians who work at trauma and non-trauma centers

Non-physician healthcare professionals who work in EDs

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2 weeks

Intervention

Participants play the Night Shift video game for 2 hours upon enrollment and then for 20 minutes every three months for 9 months

9 months

Initial 2-hour session, followed by quarterly 20-minute sessions

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in triage decisions and patient outcomes over a 1-year period

1 year

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Night Shift
• Usual education

Trial Overview The study tests a video game called Night Shift designed to improve adherence to clinical practice guidelines in trauma triage. Participants will play this game initially for 2 hours, then engage with it again every three months over a period of 9 months. The control group will continue with their usual education without the game.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Night Shift Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Night Shift 2024 is a customized, theory-based adventure video game in which the player takes on the character of Andy Jordan, a young emergency medicine physician who moves home after the disappearance of his grandfather and takes a job at a local community hospital. The investigators will ask participants to play Night Shift for 2 hours upon enrollment (or within 2 weeks), and then come back to the game quarterly to play it again for 20 minute booster sessions. They will unlock additional game content each quarter to make the experience more enjoyable.

Group II: Usual education Active Control 1 Intervention

Participants will receive their usual continuing medical education, but nothing additional.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

University of Pittsburgh

Lead Sponsor

Trials

1,820

Recruited

16,360,000+

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Collaborator

Trials

1,841

Recruited

28,150,000+

Citations

1. jamanetwork.com jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2834884

An Educational Video Game in Trauma Triage at ... Exposure to an educational trauma triage video game was associated with a moderate increase in the willingness of emergency department physicians to transfer ...

2. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10870723/

study protocol for a randomized cluster trial - PMC Night Shift is an adventure video game designed to recalibrate physician heuristics for identifying severely injured trauma patients (i.e., their pattern ...

3. bmj.com bmj.com/content/359/bmj.j5416

Efficacy of educational video game versus traditional ... Compared with apps based on traditional didactic education, exposure of physicians to a theoretically grounded video game improved triage decision making.

4. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40465299/

An Educational Video Game in Trauma Triage at Nontrauma ... A customized video game (Night Shift) designed to recalibrate physician heuristics (pattern recognition) in trauma triage.

5. schellgames.com schellgames.com/blog/night-shift-study

Night Shift | How a Video Game is Changing Trauma Triage The game is specifically designed to help doctors at non-trauma centers improve their ability to quickly and accurately assess seriously injured ...

6. bmj.com bmj.com/content/bmj/359/bmj.j5416.full.pdf?gathStatIcon=true

Efficacy of educational video game versus traditional ... INTERVENTIONS. Physicians were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to one hour of exposure to an adventure video game (Night. Shift) or apps based on ...

7. bmcemergmed.biomedcentral.com bmcemergmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12873-016-0108-z

Testing a videogame intervention to recalibrate physician ... We developed Night Shift in collaboration with emergency medicine physicians, trauma surgeons, behavioral scientists, and game designers.