Using entertainment media to teach undergraduate psychiatry: Perspectives on the need and models of innovation

Background and Objective: Medical education is undergoing a seminal change with respect to curriculum as well as teaching methods, with students in tune with the current developments in the technology and seeking newer techniques to learn medicine. The rapid pace of progression of medical science, and the breadth and depth of material to be learned, warrants formulation of techniques light on time and learning intensive. In this article, we explore such potential ideas and the principles behind using them for undergraduate (UG) education, with concepts about how they can be integrated into the current UG curriculum. Materials and Methods: Electronic searches of databases PubMed and Google Scholar were carried out to identify and include English language articles from inception till December 2019, and 36 relevant articles were selected for review. Results: The observational/passive methods included music, movies, television shows, radio, and podcasts, whereas the active methods included role play, simulated class press conferences, courtrooms, art, designing posters and pamphlets, games and gamification, Pictionary, tabletop games, and also creative writing – short stories and poetry. Conclusion: A student-centered approach rather than an exclusive technology-based approach would be ideal, and these unconventional and innovative methods provide opportunity to apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information rather a process of passive listening.