1363 ENT XP: Revolutionary Gamified Training Platform

Abstract Aim To evaluate ENT XP, a piloted five-zone gamified learning ecosystem addressing identified undergraduate ENT education gaps, measuring impact on clinical confidence among 5th-year University of Glasgow medical students during their 2-week ENT block at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital ENT department. Method ENT XP consisted of five rotational zones: Puzzle Arena (diagnostic reasoning with XP scoring), Emergencies Zone (time-pressured escalation and red-flag recognition), Skills Lab (hands-on ENT examination techniques), Mini-Clinic (authentic case simulation), and Academia Zone (ENT research and quality improvement introduction). Two pilot sessions were delivered on 25–26 November 2025: Session One (3-hour full ecosystem, n=4) and Session Two (2-hour condensed version, n=11), organised following spontaneous student demand. Students reported minimal baseline ENT curriculum exposure. Validated pre/post-confidence questionnaires (Likert 1–5) across seven competency domains, alongside qualitative feedback analysis, measured educational outcomes. Results Fifteen students participated. Session One demonstrated substantial confidence gains: ENT examination (+2.67), clinical reasoning (+2.50), urgent presentations (+2.25), progressing from low baselines (2.00–3.50) to near-optimal scores (5.00). Session Two maintained substantial improvements: clinical reasoning (+1.66), ENT examination (+1.50), red-flag recognition (+1.67). Outstanding outcomes: 100% reported significantly improved emergency recognition confidence, found methodology highly helpful, and would recommend ENT XP. Qualitative analysis identified psychological safety and high engagement as key learning drivers. Conclusions ENT XP's innovative gamified model delivers rapid, measurable confidence improvements addressing recognized education gaps. Its scalable, assessment-integrated design demonstrates promising educational technology with preliminary findings, supporting formal curriculum adoption and cross-specialty application for enhanced foundation year preparedness.