A game for teaching antimicrobial mechanisms of action.
BACKGROUND
Alternative teaching tools have proved to enhance students' interest and knowledge skills.


OBJECTIVE
To integrate basic Bacteriology with mechanisms of action of antimicrobial agents.


METHODS
The board has 121 squares, including squares with question marks and antimicrobial agents. Each student receives a card with a clinical case, identification of the bacterium and its resistance to antimicrobials. The student rolls a dice and moves the corresponding number of squares. The game depends on the dice values rolled, the bacterial resistance profile, and the questions the student has to answer each time he/she lands on a question mark. Previously, the students were given a lecture about the subject. On the day of the game, students answered a pre-test and a post-test. The paired t-test was used for the statistical analysis.


RESULTS
The game was applied to 78 students of the Medicine and Pharmacy undergraduate courses of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. There was an increase in the number of right answers and a decrease in the number of unknown answers. There were no significant differences between the courses.


CONCLUSIONS
The game could be applied to other undergraduate courses in the field of Health Sciences.
Valente
Patrícia
P
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. patricia.valente@ufrgs.br
Lora
Priscila S
PS
Landell
Melissa F
MF
Schiefelbein
Carolina S
CS
Girardi
Fábio M
FM
Souza
Leonardo Dos R
Ldos R
Zanonato
Angela
A
Scroferneker
Maria Lúcia
ML
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D001432:Bacteriology / Q000193:education*; D001938:Brazil; D003479:Curriculum; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D010988:Play and Playthings; D013337:Students, Medical; D013339:Students, Pharmacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013663:Teaching
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents