Grace keegan¹
Akash Dharni¹
1 Mid-Yorkshire Teaching Trust

There is evidence suggesting escape rooms can be utilised as a tool for team building and communication1. Few studies evaluate escape rooms as an assessment tool. 

Medical students at the University of Leeds are introduced to ENT, ophthalmology and dermatology in their 3rd year of study. We wanted to create an interactive form of assessment of these specialities. 

The ‘Special Senses’ Escape Room, delivered to 3rd year medical students, utilised logic puzzles created around core topics from these specialities. Students were observed by the doctors who delivered their speciality teaching. A post session debrief was then held. 

Students participated in groups of 2-6. 100% of students found the escape room to be a useful revision tool and would recommend to other students; with 94% of students agreed it was a useful way to consolidate knowledge, and 82% agreed it helped identify knowledge gaps. 100% agreed it encouraged the use of collaboration and communication and would like to see game- based learning included in the curriculum. 

Pre-session, students rated their confidence in ENT, dermatology, and ophthalmology domains. Pre-session 61.6%, 69.2% and 69.3% of students agreed or strongly agreed they were confident in these domains, respectively. Post session 100% agreed or strongly agreed they were confident in ophthalmology domains and 93.7% in dermatology and ENT domains. 

The activity encourages assessment for learning, as it enables students to identify knowledge gaps and receive timely constructive feedback on performance. Student's confidence levels increased after the escape room, highlighting its educational value. 

The escape room is a useful tool to assess medical students and is an enjoyable way of consolidating knowledge and encouraging teamwork and collaboration. 

With increasing demand and interest in gamification as a learning tool, escape rooms highlight a way to incorporate gamification into assessment. 

References (maximum three) 

Guckian J, Eveson L, May H. The great escape? The rise of the escape room in medical education. Future Healthc J. 2020 Jun;7(2):112-115. doi: 10.7861/fhj.2020-0032. PMID: 32550277; PMCID: PMC7296573.