Oral Presentation - Research

Breaking Down the Silos: Development and Implementation of an Interprofessional Escape Room

- CDT
Room: Hill
Lindsay Iverson, DNP, APRN, ACNP, CHSE
Creighton University
Ryan Batenhorst, Ed.D., M.Ed., NRP
Creighton University
Track:
  • Innovative Approaches to Interprofessional Pedagogy and Education Science
Escape rooms provide an engaging, high-pressure environment that mimics real-world challenges, requiring participants to rely on each other’s expertise to achieve a common goal. Despite the increasing use of escape rooms in healthcare education, limited research exists on their effectiveness in promoting interprofessional collaboration across multiple disciplines. Pairing professions such as nurse practitioners (NPs) and paramedicine presents an opportunity to explore how such simulations can enhance teamwork and mutual understanding of roles.

How does participation in an interprofessional escape room activity impact teamwork, communication, and perceptions of collaboration? Methods/methodology Students from Creighton University's Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AG-ACNP) program ( n=9) and paramedicine (n=9) participated in the activity.

The escape room consisted of 12 lockboxes, secured with numeric and alphanumeric locks. Each lockbox contained clues or tasks that needed to be solved. Tasks included interpreting lab values, interpreting EKG findings, and applying advanced technical skills.

The Creighton Interprofessional Competency Evaluation (C-ICE) was used to evaluate team behaviors.

A post-activity survey collected data on students’ experiences, perceived benefits, and challenges of the activity.

Results: All teams (100%) escaped within the 30 minutes timeframe.

C-ICE:

3 groups scored 18/18

2 groups scored 17/18

1 group scored 16/18

All students agreed the escape room was enjoyable, increased knowledge, and encouraged use of communication, collaboration and leadership skills.

Conclusions, implications, and curiosities: Results suggest that such simulations not only enhance collaborative skills but also promote a deeper understanding of the unique contributions of each profession to patient care. This study highlights the value of incorporating interprofessional escape rooms into healthcare education curricula. The findings suggest that interprofessional escape rooms could serve as a scalable and replicable model for improving collaborative competencies, ultimately translating into better patient outcomes.

Curiosities:

How does the inclusion of MD, PA, and pharmacy students further enhance the interprofessional experience?

Learning Objectives

  • After participating in this session, attendees should be able to discuss how an interactive and challenging escape room teaching strategy promotes students' critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork.
  • After participating in this session, attendees should be able discuss how the Creighton Interprofessional Collaborative Evaluation (C-ICE) can be used to evaluate interprofessional team behaviors.
  • After participating in this session, attendees should be able to identify the key components of designing and implementing an interprofessional escape room activity.

References

  • Adams V, Burger S, Crawford K, Setter R. Can you escape? creating an escape room to facilitate active learning. Journal for nurses in professional development. 2018;34(2):E1-E5. doi: 10.1097/NND.0000000000000433.
  • Gates JA, Youngberg-Campos M. Will you escape?: Validating practice while fostering engagement through an escape room. Journal for nurses in professional development. 2020;36(5):271-276. doi: 10.1097/NND.0000000000000653.
  • Iverson, L., Jizba, T., & Manning, L. (2023). Beat the Clock: Implementation and Evaluation of an Escape Room. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 9(5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2022.12.007
  • Valdes B, Mckay M, Sanko JS. The impact of an escape room simulation to improve nursing teamwork, leadership and communication skills: A pilot project. Simulation & gaming. 2021;52(1):54-61. doi: 10.1177/1046878120972738.