Can You Escape? The Pharmacology Review Virtual Escape Room

Background. Clinical learning activities in a pre-licensure nursing program are challenging to rapidly convert to an online format due to their objectives to provide hands-on practice. Previously, students spent their final day of pharmacology participating in low-fidelity lab-based, simulated pharmacology activities. Due to a public health crisis, the instructional team had to quickly change course to create an equally engaging virtual activity that provided opportunities for clinical judgment. Aim. In this article, we discuss a virtual pharmacology escape room created using Google forms for pre-licensure nursing students prior to their final pharmacology course exam. The learning objectives were to review difficult course concepts by making clinical decisions and to practice using medication protocols. Methods. The design and evaluation of a virtual pharmacology escape room are presented to reflect a learner centered approach. Key considerations when designing the escape room were to best use the students’ time, to focus on content frequently missed on exams by the student cohort, and to include medication protocols commonly encountered during the clinical part of their program. Results. Surveys provided positive feedback from learners along with suggestions for strengthening future escape room activities. Most students reported the activity provided opportunities for clinical judgment and was helpful for learning. Conclusion. Benefits of virtual escape rooms are they can be created at no cost to educators of learners and easily accessed using personal electronic devices. Future applications include designing additional escape rooms to aid student learning in challenging nursing coursework, such as pharmacology and clinical courses.