Abstract
Background: Hypertension is a significant comorbidity in the United States. Nurse Practitioners (NP) should be familiar with the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension to prevent complications for their patients. An escape room provides a fun and interactive way for NP students to learn and build skills (Friedrich et al., 2020). Escape rooms promote engagement, teamwork, and communication, and allow nurses to make mistakes in a safe environment while also building on their leadership skills (Bashir Raja et al., 2022).
Purpose: The purpose of this activity was to increase Nurse Practitioner (NP) students’ knowledge of treating patients with hypertension in the ambulatory setting in a fun and engaging way. Four unfolding case scenarios were presented in an escape room format that covered four types of hypertension: essential hypertension, secondary hypertension, “white coat” hypertension, and malignant hypertension.
Methods: Puzzles requiring critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills were developed and participants were timed throughout their completion and eventual “escape.” Surveys measuring students’ perception of their hypertension knowledge were offered during a pre-brief and debrief, and another survey was conducted to measure students’ satisfaction with the escape room activity.
Results: Students reported increased knowledge of how to treat a patient with hypertension after completing the escape room. Most of the students rated their satisfaction high for this interactive type of education.
Conclusion: The escape room was a fun and engaging way to enhance NP students’ knowledge of hypertension. Further, the NP students were satisfied with this learning experience.
Notes
Reference list included in attached slide deck.
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Teaching and Learning Strategies, Curriculum Development, Primary Care, Nurse Practitioners, Nursing Education, Advances in Education, Nurse Practitioner Students; Hypertension
Recommended Citation
Jewell, Christine; Hellend, Marsha; Balogh, Patricia; Amato, Nyssa; and Martin, Donna, "Escape Room: An Interactive Way to Teach Hypertension to Nurse Practitioner Students" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 86.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/86
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-11-26
Escape Room: An Interactive Way to Teach Hypertension to Nurse Practitioner Students
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Background: Hypertension is a significant comorbidity in the United States. Nurse Practitioners (NP) should be familiar with the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension to prevent complications for their patients. An escape room provides a fun and interactive way for NP students to learn and build skills (Friedrich et al., 2020). Escape rooms promote engagement, teamwork, and communication, and allow nurses to make mistakes in a safe environment while also building on their leadership skills (Bashir Raja et al., 2022).
Purpose: The purpose of this activity was to increase Nurse Practitioner (NP) students’ knowledge of treating patients with hypertension in the ambulatory setting in a fun and engaging way. Four unfolding case scenarios were presented in an escape room format that covered four types of hypertension: essential hypertension, secondary hypertension, “white coat” hypertension, and malignant hypertension.
Methods: Puzzles requiring critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills were developed and participants were timed throughout their completion and eventual “escape.” Surveys measuring students’ perception of their hypertension knowledge were offered during a pre-brief and debrief, and another survey was conducted to measure students’ satisfaction with the escape room activity.
Results: Students reported increased knowledge of how to treat a patient with hypertension after completing the escape room. Most of the students rated their satisfaction high for this interactive type of education.
Conclusion: The escape room was a fun and engaging way to enhance NP students’ knowledge of hypertension. Further, the NP students were satisfied with this learning experience.
Description
Learner engagement is critical for retention. An escape room is a fun and interactive way for nurse practitioner students to learn about fundamental topics required for their future clinical practice. This session will provide step by step details necessary to develop an escape room incorporating hot topics that appeal to a wide audience. This is a must attend for clinical educators, nurse faculty, leadership, and anyone with a vested interest in nursing education and professional development.