Escape Room Relay Race: “Go for the Gold” in Formative Assessment

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Immersive learning activities, such as escape room educational gaming in nursing simulation laboratories, have proven to be effective teaching strategies that promote communication and teamwork. These activities also provide educators with opportunities to assess clinical skills competencies, as well as providing them with a means for evaluating the transfer of didactic knowledge to clinical practice. METHOD: An obstetrical skills relay race with an escape room element was created as a formative evaluation method to determine if nursing students were able to demonstrate competency related to the identified learning needs. RESULTS: The competitive aspects of this learning activity were perceived as exciting and motivating by the educators and students. CONCLUSION: An escape room-themed relay race incorporated into an obstetric skills laboratory is considered an innovative and formative evaluation method, as well as an engaging and motivating learning activity for nursing students. [J Nurs. Educ. 2020;59(11):646-650.].