The escape room as evaluation method: A qualitative study of nursing students’ experiences

Abstract

Purpose: Gamification or learning using game elements is a process that seeks to capture students’ interest. One of the most popular games in recent years is the Escape Room, but the study of its use in education and with health professionals is still limited. The aim of this study was to find out the perceptions and experiences of final year nursing students in an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) by means of an Escape Room.

Methods: In January 2019, 9 focus groups (FG) were held, with a total of 95 final year nursing students. We applied a qualitative content analysis approach and ATLAS.ti version 8 was used for data analysis.

Results: The data revealed 3 main themes and 8 sub-themes. The three main themes, which were mapped to the conceptual framework, were student learning outcomes, emotional impact on students and conclusions on the serious games experience. Both the main themes and the sub-themes were illustrated using representative quotes from the participants.

Conclusions: These results can help to apply these methodologies, such as the Escape Room, alongside other pre-existing ones, complementing the way in which students are assessed and the development of important nursing skills, such as teamwork and communication.

Ethical approval

The study was approved of by the ethics committee of the University of Almeria.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of Angela Daniel Vega of In Extremis Escape Room for her insightful comments and feedback on the direction of this study. We would also like to acknowledge those professionals for their support as part of the Directive Exchange Programme and Innovative and Good Practice Groups in Teaching at the University of Almeria. Biennium 2019–20.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Glossary

OSCE: Objective Structured Clinical Examination.

Practicum: A nursing practicum provides nursing students with an opportunity to integrate theory and clinical practice under supervision from a mentor. It includes a mixture of hands-on clinical experience, lab work, and classroom education to help students improve their skills.

Escape Room: A game in which a team of players cooperatively discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to progress and accomplish a specific goal in a limited amount of time.

Additional information

Funding

Partially funded by an Education Innovation Group Grant as part of the “Escape Room and clinical simulation: clinical evaluation based in games” Project within “Creation of Innovative and Good Teaching Practice in the University of Almeria Call. Biennium 2019–2020”.

Notes on contributors

Pablo Roman

Dr Pablo Roman, RN, MSc, PhD, holds the position of Vice Dean of Nursing within the Faculty of Health at University of Almeria and is leading the Teaching Innovation Group about Gamification in Health Sciences. In addition, he is participating in an International Innovation Group about clinical problem-based teaching and evidence-based practice.

Miguel Rodriguez-Arrastia

Dr Miguel Rodriguez-Arrastia, RN, MSc, PhD, has 10 years nursing experience and at present works as a lecturer in Nursing Degree at Jaume I University. His interests are in the learning environment and new technologies, evidence-based practice, elderly care and policies.

Guadalupe Molina-Torres

Dr Guadalupe Molina Torres, PT, MSc, PhD, is a physiotherapist and bachelor in Sport Science. She currently works as a lecturer in Physiotherapy Degree at the University of Granada – Melilla Campus. Previous to this she worked as a physiotherapist in public hospitals.

Verónica V. Márquez-Hernández

Dr Verónica V. Márquez-Hernández, RN, MSc, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Medicine, University of Almeria, Spain. She belongs to the Research Group for Health-Sciences CTS-451, Health Research Centre. She obtained a PhD in Health Sciences from University of Almeria. Her research interests include nursing education, new technologies, and chronic illness.

Lorena Gutiérrez-Puertas

Dr Lorena Gutiérrez-Puertas, RN, MSc, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Medicine, University of Almería, Spain. She obtained a PhD in Health, Psychology and Psychiatry from University of Almería. Her research interests include nursing education and new technologies.

Carmen Ropero-Padilla

Dr Carmen Ropero-Padilla, RN, MSc, PhD, is a nurse specializing in dementia care and is currently working as a lecturer in Nursing Degree at Jaume I University. Her research background and interests are in new methodologies about learning, elderly care and mistreatment of vulnerable groups.