{"id":1453,"date":"2026-04-27T13:17:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T13:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/?p=1453"},"modified":"2026-04-27T13:19:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T13:19:30","slug":"per-speaker-series-with-dr-mark-carew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2026\/04\/27\/per-speaker-series-with-dr-mark-carew\/","title":{"rendered":"PER Speaker Series with Dr Mark Carew"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We were delighted to be joined earlier this month by Dr Mark Carew, from the Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, to discuss his experience developing and licensing ‘What the Pharma!\u2019, a card game that helps clinical pharmacology students engage with this topic through play.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, \u2018What the Pharma?\u2019 was licensed by Focus Games<\/a>, providing students with a new method for understanding the complexities of clinical pharmacology beyond the textbook. As part of our PER Speaker Series, Dr Mark Carew talked us through the process of creating the game, from its conception to its licensing.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Carew shared insights from his experience of the Exeter Education Incubator<\/a>, and his learnings from business engagement courses and commercialisation specialists. The game\u00a0originated with himself and Dr Robert\u00a0Arbuthnott\u00a0to solve a problem \u2013 namely, medical students\u2019 struggle to engage with and understand clinical pharmacology within their practice. To ensure the game provided\u00a0a viable\u00a0solution to this problem, it was extensively tested with student\u00a0users, and\u00a0adapted from its original format to\u00a0meet their needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m very interested in active learning…so it\u2019s not just listening to a person\u201d<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clinical pharmacology, Dr Carew explained, can be a highly challenging and often daunting subject, citing the 6.5% of NHS admissions per year caused by adverse drug reactions. \u2018What the Pharma?\u2019 invites students to improve their understanding of pharmacology in clearer language, removing some of the anxiety linked to this topic.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there are undeniable challenges to game development, particularly as a researcher. Dr Carew acknowledged the need for flexibility, especially when working with licensing partners, who may wish to adapt your initial idea to better sell on the market. Likewise, he highlighted further difficulties in identifying endorsements for the project, and conducting a final evaluation to assess the impact of the game for its players. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, the game\u2019s success has paved the way for future engagement activities. Dr Carew is now looking at opportunities to expand his game development skills to a non-academic audience, developing a new version of the game designed to explain clinical pharmacology to the general public, and supporting students in building their own engagement work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can\u00a0purchase\u00a0the game for yourself at Focus Games<\/a>, and if you would like to listen to a recording of our talk, University of Exeter staff can find it on the Public Engagement with Research SharePoint site<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We were delighted to be joined earlier this month by Dr Mark Carew, from the Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, to discuss his experience developing and licensing ‘What the Pharma!\u2019,\u00a0a card game that helps clinical pharmacology students engage with this topic through play.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2305,"featured_media":1459,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPER Speaker Series with Dr Mark Carew - Public Engagement with Research (PER) at the University of Exeter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/per\/2026\/04\/27\/per-speaker-series-with-dr-mark-carew\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PER Speaker Series with Dr Mark Carew - 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