April 7, 2021 – Each year, nursing professionals are required to
complete continuing education credits to fulfill state requirements for
licensure renewal. Lectures and skills fairs are most common, with stations
representing various simulations and topics. But studies have shown that
neither lectures nor simulations are the most effective way to engage
students, as they can be boring and tedious, sometimes taking hours to complete.
To combat the classroom doldrums, the Southeast Georgia Health System Clinical
Education team is taking a cue from the higher education arena, having
created an Escape Room as part of their nurses’ Clinical Education
program. The Escape Room is an innovative, interactive way to create a
productive learning environment while also enhancing nurse collaboration
– making learning both fun and effective.
Escape Rooms are a popular recreational activity in which participants
are closed into a room, then presented with a story line and a series
of challenges that must be completed in order to “escape.”
For this clever spin on the concept, a group of Health System nurses work
together to find clues, solve puzzles and complete clinical tasks to earn
their escape, with each session covering up to 10 different nursing-related
topics. A moderator is present should the team need remediation, but the
goal is that teammates will pull from each other’s knowledge and
clinical experiences to advance.
Cameras in the room allow the Clinical Education team to see how the nurses
are utilizing their strengths. “The Escape Room fosters a self-guided
learning experience in real time, versus direct instruction that comes
from a lecture or skills fair. This makes the experience so much more
meaningful,” says Michelle Cox, manager, Clinical and Team Member
Education. “There is critical thinking, communication and cooperative
problem-solving happening within the room. It’s exciting to watch.”
Nurses are typically paired at random with others who work in different
areas of the Health System, though the option to create their own team
is available. Escape Room participants perform under a time limit of 45
minutes, fostering the type of fast, on-your-feet thinking that is relevant
in a medical setting. “So far, everyone seems to really enjoy this
type of learning. Each team comes up with a creative name, and it has
become quite the competition to see who can escape the room in the shortest
amount of time. We now have a leaderboard, tracking the top 10 teams,
which has created a fun rivalry between them,” says Cox.
After the team has escaped, the group meets with the educators to debrief
on what they learned during the session. Each team member answers a series
of planned questions via an app called Kahoot!, ensuring that there is
100% participation. Team members then have the opportunity to share their
thoughts and perspectives on the experience, allowing them to reflect,
expand and connect more deeply with the learning aspect of the Escape
Room experience.
A few of the nurse’s comments following participation in the educational
experience include:
- “The Escape Room made us really think and dig into what we know and
how to implement.”
- “Better team work and thinking outside of the box.”
- “Getting to have fun and being active. Not just sitting in a classroom.”
- “Loved it! Very interactive and fun.”
- “I really enjoyed the Escape Room and practicing our skills in a
different way.”
The Health System has offered weekly Escape Room sessions at its Center
for Educational Development since fall 2020. With feedback from participants
being overwhelmingly positive, the Clinical Department doesn’t see
this new form of education ending anytime soon. “Team members feel
they have genuinely learned something and appreciate the cross-departmental
collaboration,” says Cox, who feels that this experience would be
beneficial for all team members, not just nurses. While the Health System
will continue to incorporate the lecture- and skills fair-based learning,
the benefits of this interactive game haven’t escaped them.