Virtual Escapes: A Pedagogical Strategy for Developing Emotional Competence in Nursing Students

Emotional competence, the ability to manage interpersonal relationships through understanding one's and others' emotions, encompasses two dimensions: cognitive and behavioral. In nursing practice, the combination of these dimensions allows for better performance in highly complex clinical situations. Nursing education does not always emphasize these competences. This pilot study explored the potential of an escape room, a Serious Games (SGs) prototype with virtual reality (VR), as a pedagogical strategy for eliciting emotions in a safe learning environment. Participants' immersion in the game provided an opportunity to identify, manage, and process emotions. Data were gathered by a questionnaire and by observation of performance. The findings revealed that participants felt various emotions (n = 51) while playing the game. The least frequent reported emotions were hope, shame, and contempt. Admiration, pride, satisfaction, and fear were the most frequently reported emotions. These findings suggest that using a SGs prototype with VR as a pedagogical tool holds significant potential in emotion elicitation in a safe learning environment, implying its value as a construct of emotional competence. Further research to verify educational value is recommended.