Location
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Event Date
3-31-2026
Abstract
Background: Game-based learning, such as escape rooms, have been shown to improve education experiences and student engagement. Digital escape rooms, specifically using Google Forms, have been shown to be an effective tool in teaching pharmacy-related topics. Reading and applying clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are critical skills all student pharmacists must build, and an activity such as a digital escape room could be useful to implement in the pharmacy curricula. The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of a digital escape room via Google Forms is an effective teaching strategy for pharmacy students on reading and applying CPGs. Methods: Third-year professional pharmacy students (N=27) in a Drug Literature course participated in a 50-minute traditional didactic lecture followed by a digital escape room conducted via Google Forms. The escape room (length ~60 minutes) was done in groups of 2-4 students (N=11), and there were no grades given for completion of the escape room. Students who attended the lecture and participated in the escape room were asked to complete an optional 11-item quality improvement survey. Survey data from this single cohort pilot study was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The average age of participants was 24 years (SD: 1). Majority of students identified as female (67%), White (96.3%), and non-Hispanic (88.9%). Most students worked in groups of 3 and took the full 60 minutes to complete the activity. Students reported an overall higher level of agreement in confidence in both reading and applying CPGs following the completion of the activity. Conclusions: The Google Forms escape room was an effective educational activity at increasing student confidence in both reading and applying CPGs based on student perception data. Future studies with bigger sample sizes should be conducted to further strengthen this claim in addition to examining its impact on knowledge retention.
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No Escape Without Evidence: Is a Digital Escape Room an Effective Strategy to Teach the Use of Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs)?
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Background: Game-based learning, such as escape rooms, have been shown to improve education experiences and student engagement. Digital escape rooms, specifically using Google Forms, have been shown to be an effective tool in teaching pharmacy-related topics. Reading and applying clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are critical skills all student pharmacists must build, and an activity such as a digital escape room could be useful to implement in the pharmacy curricula. The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of a digital escape room via Google Forms is an effective teaching strategy for pharmacy students on reading and applying CPGs. Methods: Third-year professional pharmacy students (N=27) in a Drug Literature course participated in a 50-minute traditional didactic lecture followed by a digital escape room conducted via Google Forms. The escape room (length ~60 minutes) was done in groups of 2-4 students (N=11), and there were no grades given for completion of the escape room. Students who attended the lecture and participated in the escape room were asked to complete an optional 11-item quality improvement survey. Survey data from this single cohort pilot study was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The average age of participants was 24 years (SD: 1). Majority of students identified as female (67%), White (96.3%), and non-Hispanic (88.9%). Most students worked in groups of 3 and took the full 60 minutes to complete the activity. Students reported an overall higher level of agreement in confidence in both reading and applying CPGs following the completion of the activity. Conclusions: The Google Forms escape room was an effective educational activity at increasing student confidence in both reading and applying CPGs based on student perception data. Future studies with bigger sample sizes should be conducted to further strengthen this claim in addition to examining its impact on knowledge retention.