This award is presented to an individual or team for a research project that has demonstrated innovation and significant impact on pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical sciences in Singapore. This award is made possible with the kind sponsorship of Mrs Tan Shook Fong.

This year, the award goes to our fellow pharmacists at Department of Pharmacy, National University of Singapore (NUS), Dr Kevin Yap and Dr Yap Kai Zhen. Both Kevin and Kai Zhen are lecturers at NUS, dedicated to developing novel methods to sustain the learning interest and increasing opportunities where students are able to put their knowledge to good use.

The Problem

Currently, pharmacy professional skills are taught through demonstration and role playing, and are often limited in scope. This limitation poses a challenge as students are not able to integrate what they have learnt in theory and apply to practice.

The Creative Solution

To overcome the problem, Kevin and Kai Zhen decided to explore Gamification.  They collected feedback from 500 students to seek their preferences when designing the gaming environment. It was found that the students preferred a three-dimensional, post-apocalyptic game in a fantasy, medieval or mythical setting with an adventurer storyline. Based on the findings, Kevin and Kai Zhen decided to combine interactive virtual environment with visual/motion capture systems, and developed an adventure themed multi-player online role-playing game where students are challenged to think and solve healthcare related problems. This game set in the futuristic world, requires students to take on the role of pharmacists and interact with virtual patients. Through the game, the students are able to put to practice skills such as drug compounding, dispensing and counselling. Selected learning principles are also incorporated into the virtual patient encounters, allowing students to familiarize themselves in the areas of ethics, law and good clinical practice.

The very first pharmacy-related multi player role playing game is currently implemented at NUS to train pharmacy students, and has been very well received. The game provides relevant training as well as a safe environment where students can learn from their mistakes without severe negative consequences that may occur in real life.

This unique learning method definitely aligns with Singapore’s vision to be a Smart Nation. We look forward to other creative solutions to promote learning. Cheers to Dr Kevin Yap and Dr Yap Kai Zhen on winning the Tan Shook Fong Innovation and Scientific Research award!