NDSU faculty create games for prospective students to explore pharmacy careers
Professors from the NDSU School of Pharmacy have developed a card game and a board game to introduce high school students to more than 100 pharmacy careers and the pathway to earning a PharmD at NDSU.
Jeanne Frenzel, professor in pharmacy practice, and Lisa Richter, associate professor of practice, have been co-directors of recruitment for the School of Pharmacy since 2023, and worked together to develop the games to help students learn about pharmacy.
“The idea behind the card game was to create a resource that teachers could use to introduce students to pharmacy careers and the NDSU pharmacy program in communities across North Dakota, especially those with limited access to pharmacists, health science, or career exploration programs,” Frenzel explained.
With a $2,000 grant from the North Dakota STEM Ecosystem, Frenzel and Richter developed the MedMatch card game over six months. During that time, they made multiple iterations and piloted it with students, colleagues, pharmacists, and family members who played and provided feedback.
“Even our own kids were learning little facts about medications and would say ‘I didn’t know ibuprofen was Advil,’” Richter shared.
MedMatch comes with two decks, a patient profile deck and a pharmacy deck. The patient profile cards feature a patient with a condition and the medication they have been prescribed to treat the condition. It also features a pharmacist career spotlight that highlights different types of jobs for pharmacists. The pharmacy deck features cards that list a medication, its pronunciation, brand and generic names and what the medication is used for. It also highlights one of 100+ pharmacy careers.
Some examples of different pharmacist careers are in the areas of pediatrics, ambulatory care, critical care, and infectious disease. Players score points by matching the correct medication to each patient’s condition.
"We were intentional in developing the game instructions to have students read the pharmacists’ career spotlights aloud during gameplay. This allows students to learn about the many unique career paths in pharmacy while sharing that knowledge with their fellow players,” Frenzel said.
To distribute the game, they will connect with HOSA-Future Health Professionals advisors. HOSA is a student-led organization with a mission to empower HOSA-Future Health Professionals to become leaders in the global health community through education, collaboration and experience. HOSA advisors provide resources, classroom activities, lesson ideas and partnership activities that can help students interested in a career in healthcare explore their options.
They are also developing a list of health science instructors in North Dakota to provide complimentary copies of the game.
Students who enjoy the MedMatch game can then learn more through the board game, Road to PharmD, which takes players from student pharmacists to licensed pharmacists.
“As students play the game they learn about the pharmacy program and many of the milestones along the way to earning a Doctor of Pharmacy degree,” Frenzel said.
Road To PharmD gives players the opportunity to learn more about what a pharmacist does day-to-day, through realistic scenarios including patient education, community health initiatives such as immunization clinics, and collaboration with other healthcare professionals. As players progress along the board, they experience the challenges and rewards of pharmacy practice.
The co-directors have enjoyed working on this project and are hopeful it will start conversations about pharmacy careers in classrooms, inspire campus visits and eventually impact enrollment numbers.
In addition to developing these games, Richter and Frenzel have created a variety of on- and off-campus, hands-on pharmacy activities for students from elementary to high school. These interactive compounding experiences allow students to make products such as lotions, creams, lip balms, lollipops, hand sanitizer, troches, and tablet triturates while exploring pharmacy careers and discovering how pharmacists help patients.
“There’s a lot of excitement when we go into schools and the students get to compound something,” Richter said.
For those interested in learning more about NDSU School of Pharmacy outreach initiatives, requesting educational resources, or supporting the production and distribution of MedMatch and Road to PharmD, contact Jeanne Frenzel or Lisa Richter.