Introduction:Teaching electrocardiography (ECG) is considered one of the major challenges in medical education due to the complexity of its concepts and the need for accurate interpretive skills. In recent years, the use of innovative educational approaches, including gamification, has attracted increasing attention as a strategy to enhance student motivation, engagement, and active learning. Given the growing application of gamification in medical education, the present study aimed to review the methods, advantages, and challenges of using gamification in ECG teaching and learning.
Materials & Methods:A systematic literature search was conducted in Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar using relevant keywords and MeSH terms from 2000 to 2026. Reference lists of relevant studies and similar systematic reviews were also screened. Reference management was performed using EndNote X7. Study selection and data extraction were independently carried out by two researchers in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. In the initial search, 2,450 articles were identified. After screening based on inclusion criteria, 8 studies were included in the final review.
Results:In this review, findings indicated that game-based approaches, including digital games, online gamification platforms, board games, and educational puzzles, improved students’ knowledge, ECG interpretation skills, and practical performance. Most studies also reported increased motivation, satisfaction, self-directed learning, and active engagement among learners. In some studies, gamification enhanced critical thinking skills and improved knowledge retention compared with traditional teaching methods. However, the effectiveness of these approaches depended on game design, level of interactivity, and implementation strategy.
Conclusion:Gamification, as an innovative educational approach, can enhance ECG learning in terms of knowledge acquisition, practical skills, and learner motivation. The use of interactive and competitive elements promotes active participation and improves knowledge retention among students. Nevertheless, appropriate game design and selection of a suitable educational platform play a crucial role in determining the effectiveness of this approach.

Acknowledgments: We sincerely thank all the students of Medical Sciences who cooperated in this research.

Availability of data and materials: The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Consent for publication: Not applicable.

Ethical approval and consent to participate: Written informed consent was obtained from the participants to take part in the study. Participants were informed that their participation in the study was voluntary. Participants’ data were analyzed and reported anonymously and confidentially. This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.

Authors’ Contributions: All authors contributed to the study conception, design, data collection, analysis, and manuscript writing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding: This study received no financial support from any funding agencies in the public, commercial, or non-profit sectors.

Open Access Policy: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. To view a copy of this licence, visit.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0