The Eclampsia Escape Room: An Innovative Educational Experience for the OB/GYN Clerkship

Escape rooms are a popular form of entertainment in which participants collaborate to solve puzzles to achieve a goal, often "escaping" a scenario. In educational settings, escape rooms are grounded in theories of gamification and experiential learning, with evidence supporting knowledge acquisition and learner satisfaction in health professions education. Despite increasing use in medical education, escape rooms remain underutilized in undergraduate obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) training. Hypertension in pregnancy and eclampsia are critical components of undergraduate medical education and good subjects with which to use this immersive educational experience.

Third-year medical students on the OB/GYN clerkship participated in a 60-minute lecture-based didactic, followed by an eclampsia-themed escape room of approximately 20 minutes. Learning objectives were reviewed before both activities. The escape room scenario involved a labor and delivery patient who acutely "does not feel well." Students were oriented to expectations and ground rules before working through a series of puzzles leading to a final passphrase. A structured debrief followed, during which each puzzle was reviewed and explicitly mapped to the learning objectives.

Fifty-eight medical students participated in the escape room, and 15 students (25.9%) completed the postactivity survey. All respondents reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the escape room as part of their educational experience. All participants indicated that the activity added value or significant value and that learning objectives were met.

This escape room represents a novel educational strategy for OB/GYN clerkship students and demonstrates perceived educational value and achievement of learning objectives.