Trapped in the OR: Using an Escape Room for Nurse Anesthesiology Crisis Management Education (1 Class A CE)

Trapped in the OR explores the use of escape rooms as a form of gamified simulation for Resident Registered Nurse Anesthesiologists (RRNAs) to apply advanced critical thinking and crisis management skills while improving RRNA engagement and communication. Escape rooms (ERs) have promising results for enhanced learning, anesthesia skill repetition, and collaborative learning. In comparison to traditional simulation, ERs can also teach SRNAs to communicate more effectively in high pressure situations, while also reducing overall student anxiety in simulation. At current, there is an opportunity for gamified simulation to be holistically defined in the anesthesia program environment and for a standardized escape room framework to be created, which could alleviate some of the program-centeredness that often occurs with such activities. ERs present a unique and interactive way for adult learners to practice anesthesia skills and reinforce didactic knowledge and should be considered as a part of a program’s simulation regimen.