Abstract TP113: Stroke Escape Room: A Novel Stroke Education Technique

Abstract

Introduction: Georgia is one of the leading states in the country with high mortality rates from stroke. Even in post-COVID times, beside nurses have been challenged with obtaining the required number of stroke education hours for the organization’s stroke certification. A Stroke Escape Room was developed as an innovative way to meet annual stroke education hours. Purpose: The Stroke Escape Room is designed to help front-line staff achieve their annual stroke education requirements while promoting their understanding and retention of clinical practice guidelines. Methods: Three independent stroke patient scenarios were developed. Each patient scenario was associated with a combination access lock box. Participants answer questions about the scenario. The answers to the questions are associated with the numbers to unlock the box and move on to the next scenario. A final lock box contains an evaluation to assess learning. The session took approximately 30 minutes to complete. With course completion, the nurse receives 30 minutes of stroke education credit, a certificate for completion, and a BE FAST badge buddy. Participants were encouraged to attend the activity in small groups with at least one member being a Registered Nurse. A poster displaying stroke related clinical practice guidelines was displayed in the Escape Room. Results: A total of 22 staff participated in the activity. The participants attended in groups varying from one participant to four participants. Most (63.6%) participants work in the Emergency Department, 13.6% work on the stroke unit, 13.6% are educators, and 9% work in the Intensive Care Unit. Feedback received was extremely positive. Majority of participants reported positive experience, stating the education technique was fun, engaging, and promoted critical thinking. In addition, more than half the participants requested to use similar technique in other settings. Conclusion and Next Steps: Implementing an escape room for learning encouraged participants to interact. This type of educational design promotes collaboration and critical thinking. In conclusion, additional scenarios are being developed along with questions designed to promote critical thinking related to the phases of care.