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Procedure-Focused Escape Room: A Pilot Study on Teaching High-Stakes Technical Skills in Anesthesia Residents
Jeffrey Huang1, Natalia Tarasova1, Charles R Sims1
1The following authors are in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN: is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology; and are Associate Program Directors and Assistant Professors of Anesthesiology; and is the Division Chair of Neuroanesthesia and Radiology and an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology. is an Anesthesia Resident at Geisinger, Danville, PA, and a former Simulation Fellow at the Mayo Clinic Multidisciplinary Simulation Center, Rochester, MN and Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, MN. is the former Program Director and a Professor of Anesthesiology in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, and Senior Associate Dean of Surgery and Surgical Specialties of the Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, MN.
Anesthesiology residents improved self-efficacy in high-stakes procedures using a novel escape room game. This innovative game-based learning approach was strongly preferred over traditional workshops.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Game-Based Learning
- Anesthesiology
Background:
- Teaching high-stakes, infrequent procedures presents significant challenges.
- Escape rooms offer a potential innovative solution through game-based learning.
- Limited guidance exists for designing physical puzzle-focused escape rooms for medical training.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and implement a procedure-focused escape room for teaching high-stakes technical skills to anesthesiology residents.
- To assess the feasibility and impact of this novel educational intervention.
Main Methods:
- Five key anesthesiology procedural skills were selected using a modified Delphi technique.
- A sequential escape room with puzzles, locks, and codes was designed around these skills.
- A pretest-posttest study design was used to assess resident self-efficacy.
Main Results:
- 78% of eligible residents participated; 96% preferred the escape room over traditional workshops.
- Resident self-efficacy significantly improved for all five targeted procedures.
- The total cost for puzzle equipment was $169.53.
Conclusions:
- Procedure-focused escape rooms are a feasible method for teaching high-stakes technical skills.
- Key design lessons include intentional participant capping, resource optimization, and maximizing reproducibility.
- Escape room participation significantly increased resident self-efficacy and was highly preferred by participants.
