VIRTUAL POSTER From Classroom to Community

An evidence-based practice capstone project for an MSN Nurse Educator program has transformed into an innovative learning experience for BSN nursing students enrolled in a senior-level community health course. Focusing on the American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN] Essentials, Domain 3 (2021), a team of nurse educators designed a pseudo-escape room simulation to help students develop competencies in managing a disease outbreak, specifically Neisseria meningitidis.

The interactive experience is structured around hands-on tasks where students must solve clues and complete assignments to "save" a college campus from an outbreak. The experience begins with foundational education on disease outbreak management, including the nine principles of outbreak response, “establish an outbreak and surveillance, verify the diagnosis, make a case definition, list cases and contacts, descriptive epidemiology and hypothesis testing, implement control measures, and communicate” (Houlihan & Whitworth, 2019, Figure 1). 

Students, grouped into teams of five, undergo a pre-briefing session before starting their escape room challenges. The first room introduces a scenario involving a patient— a student in university dorms— who tested positive for N. meningitidis. To advance, students must self-assign roles and complete relevant Incident Command System (ICS) forms. Success in this task unlocks the next challenge: performing contact tracing. Here, students use the index patient’s information to start identifying and contacting close contacts, reinforcing contact tracing principles and vital communication skills (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], n.d.). In the third room, students receive updated information from the State Health Department regarding the outbreak in their community. They are tasked with drafting a public health information statement aimed at the university community and addresses health literacy, incidence rates, recommended preventive measures, symptoms of N. meningitidis, and details about the Point of Distribution (POD) for asymptomatic close contacts. The fourth room represents the POD center on campus, where students screen individuals who have reached out for assistance following their exposure to the index patient. In this scenario, students must adhere to proper personal protective equipment (PPE) protocols and identify the most cost-effective treatment options based on provided data, all while managing the supplies and expenses associated with the POD.

Through this experience, nursing students engage in critical thinking, collaboration, and practical skills necessary for effective community health response, providing a comprehensive learning experience that bridges theory and practice. Post-experience surveys and reflections reveal students' enthusiasm for learning with this escape room simulation strategy. 

References:
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). The Essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education. Accessible online at https://www.cdc.gov/museum/pdf/cdcm-pha-stem-lesson-contact-tracing-lesson.pdf

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.) Contact tracing. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/museum/pdf/cdcm-pha-stem-lesson-contact-tracing-lesson.pdf

Houlihan, C. and Whitworth, J. (2019). Outbreak science: recent progress in the detection and response to outbreaks of infectious diseases. Clin Med, 19(2): 140-144. doi: 10.7861/clinmedicine.19-2-140