Bringing Escape Room Concepts to Pathophysiology Case Studies

Abstract

Escape rooms are physical games set in fictional settings where participants work together to find hidden objects, complete tasks, and solve puzzles to escape the room in a limited amount of time. Escape rooms are problem-based, collaborative, and require interaction with physical aspects of the game. Portable escape boxes are games developed using escape room concepts but can be taken into the classroom. Instead of escaping a room, students work together to complete tasks to get deeper into the escape box. The examination of pathophysiology case studies is well suited for the use of escape boxes since they are inherently problem-based. Using escape boxes is a natural progression to further problem and team-based learning in the use of case studies in pathophysiology and medical education. This article explores the development of an escape box, presents the challenges and narrative of the game and discusses the lessons learned during the process.