The first class of Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) students graduate next week from Elon. The faculty in the nursing department wanted to send them off in style and so they created an Oscar-themed escape room as a summative evaluation tool.
Time flies when you are having fun, and that has certainly been the case for members of the inaugural Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, who graduate on Friday, Dec. 9.
These students who make up the program’s Class of 2022 began their studies at Elon 16 months ago and have endured a rigorous plan of study that has included challenging didactic work, multiple labs, simulations, experiential learning service and 8- to 12-hour clinical shifts at local agencies.
The nursing faculty wanted to celebrate their grit and dedication, in a uniquely Elon manner, by creating a summative escape room. An escape room is a fun activity where students are given a series of challenges that they must complete in order to be able to “escape from the room.” By tying each of the challenges to a Student Learning Outcome (SLOs) that was used in each specific course, faculty members were able to judge how competent the students are in a range of skills.
The students had to answer three questions correctly for each challenge to successful pass. With a fun theme of a “Night at the Oscars,” the upbeat event included short videos made when these students began their journies. A video from all the faculty as well as pictures and reflections of their last 16 months added to the celebration, with students enjoying chocolate-covered strawberries and sparkling apple cider.
With the support of Nita Skillman and Bethany Fearnow from the Interdisciplinary Professional Simulation Lab, the nursing faculty worked together to create seven different challenges that reflected multiple courses these students had taken in their nursing program. These ranged from accurately calculating input and output in foundations to a health assessment of a pediatric patient to determining fetal decelerations to interpreting electrocardiogram waves.
This hands-on reflective activity met multiple goals for the Nursing Department. It was a summative reflection of many of the skills and attitudes that have been taught during the last 16 months. It was competency-based, which is an important trend in nursing education and maintained the highest educational standards since it was tied it to the SLOs in the courses. Yet most of all, the nursing faculty members had fun planning it and delivering it, as did the students who participated in the “Night at the Oscars” escape room.
No one in health care works alone. Everyone works as part of a team and this was emphasized by concluding the simulation with a group jigsaw puzzle that spelled out “EaRNed,” as the cohort will sit for their external boards to earn their licenses as registered nurses.
The students had to work collaboratively to earn the pieces of the puzzle and then put these pieces together to solve it.
With help from a small grant from CATL and Jill McSweeney, the program purchased banners, posters and a 40-foot red carpet to make the event Oscars-themed. Each student received a gold star with their name on it, reflecting that they have left a mark on Elon and that they have achieved fame by being the university’s first nursing graduating class.