Abstract: TH-PO0008
Break Out of the Nephron: Designing and Evaluating a Renal Escape Room for Medical Students
Session Information
- Educational Research Within and Across Disciplines
November 06, 2025 | Location: Exhibit Hall, Convention Center
Abstract Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Category: Educational Research
- 1000 Educational Research
Authors
- Sii, Adileen, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
- Gitter, Christopher B., Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
- Joachim, Emily, Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Medicine, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
- Weaver, Chelsea Christina, Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Physiology, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Background
As medical education advances, gamification has emerged as an innovative instructional strategy. One approach is the use of escape rooms: collaborative, game-like experiences in which learners solve interconnected puzzles to “escape” a room together. 1 Studies suggest escape rooms promote engagement, peer collaboration, and improved knowledge retention among learners.1,2,3 Over 90% of pre-clinical medical students reported these activities as “very enjoyable,” with studies showing significant improvements in knowledge retention and problem-solving skills.1 ,3 This study evaluated a renal escape room as a supplemental learning tool for pre-clinical medical students as part of the Renal Integrated Science Block at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Methods
A virtual “Renal Escape Room” was piloted in 2023 with pre-clinical medical students involving a case-based series of renal puzzles aligned with course block objectives and continued in 2024 and 2025. Students completed a post-session questionnaire, rating the following on a 5-point Likert scale: enjoyment, perceived exam preparedness, and likelihood of recommendation. The ratings were averaged. Students were also asked for qualitative feedback.
Results
A total of 65 pre-clinical medical students participated in this virtual escape room. Students rated enjoyment at 4.93 (SD 0.24), perceived exam preparedness at 4.64 (SD 0.59), and likelihood to recommend at 4.98 (SD 0.12) on a 5-point scale. Feedback highlighted the escape room as “interactive”, “engaging”, and “low stress” and emphasized its utility as an exam review tool. Suggestions for improvement included increasing the difficulty level and adding more histological images through virtual microscope programming.
Conclusion
The renal escape room was highly rated by all three cohorts, supporting its effectiveness as an engaging educational activity. It promoted teamwork and sparked interest in nephrology while effectively reinforcing critical renal concepts through an engaging, interactive format. Future considerations include further expanding this activity to encompass additional topics and integrating it further into the pre-clinical curricula to enhance student learning and interest.