Can the implementation of an interactive escape room improve confidence in clinical reasoning skills in a graduate nurse residency program?

The purpose of this study was to evaluate if an interactive escape room can improve the confidence of clinical reasoning skills in a graduate nurse residency program. An 8 station escape room was created with approximately 4-5 clues at each station. Participants had to use clinical reasoning skills to complete the puzzles within 8 minutes. A total of 23 nurse residents participated. A pretest and posttest measuring confidence was given using a 5-point Likert score and a numerical value was given to responses, with 1 being “not confident at all” to 5 being completely confident. The average self-reported confidence level by the nurse residents prior to beginning the activity was 2.61. After the intervention the average was 3.23, with the difference between the two averages being t= 0.013, indicating a statistical significance (p < 0.05). Common themes of lessons gained during the escape room was the importance of teamwork, communication, and effective time management. The use of an interactive escape room can help improve nurse residency confidence in managing changing patient status, which can potentially result in decreased nurse anxiety and mistakes surrounding these events. (Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Linda Merritt)