Development and Assessment of Integrated Virtual Escape Rooms to Reinforce Cardiology Content and Skills

Objective. To describe the development and assessment of an integrated virtual escape room in a cardiology course.Methods. A virtual escape room was developed to reinforce therapeutics, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, medicinal chemistry, pharmacogenomics, and calculations related to cardiology in an integrated pharmacy course and was completed by two student cohorts. Groups of four to five students had 40 minutes to complete virtual escape room puzzles, and each puzzle had to be solved correctly prior to advancing. After completion of the activity, learners met with facilitators to debrief. Students completed pre- and postsurveys to assess knowledge changes and their perceptions of the experience.Results. One hundred twenty-six second-year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students completed the escape room, and 79% (n=55) and 93% (n=52) of students completed pre- and postsurveys for the 2020 and 2021 cohorts, respectively. Results showed a significant improvement in student knowledge on pre- to postsurvey knowledge questions (2020 presurvey mean [SD]=43.1 [22.6], postsurvey mean [SD]=74.1 [19.6]; 2021 presurvey mean [SD]=52.0 [15.8], postsurvey mean [SD]=67.1 [19.2]). Most students in both cohorts (88%) agreed that logistics of the escape rooms were amenable to learning and applying information, and 86% enjoyed working through puzzles.Conclusion. The virtual escape room was well received by students and served as an effective tool for reinforcing and integrating cardiology concepts. The virtual nature of the activity makes it practical and easily replicable to implement at other institutions, which can benefit from using the format, logistics, and materials described in this study to decrease faculty workload and costs associated with implementing this educational technique.