Soft skills and implications for future professional practice: Qualitative findings of a nursing education escape room.

Background: Educational escape rooms have been shown to improve student content knowledge; however, research about other skills developed during escape rooms is lacking.

Objectives: To explore baccalaureate nursing students' perceptions of a cardiovascular-themed educational escape room. During the data analysis, researchers uncovered unique findings related to participant soft skill development and implications for participant future professional practice.

Design: A basic interpretive qualitative methodology was used.

Setting: The study was conducted at a medium-sized, private, not-for-profit university in the Midwest United States.

Participants: Baccalaureate nursing students who had recently participated in a cardiovascular-themed educational escape room were purposefully recruited.

Methods: A total of two focus groups were conducted using a semi-structured focus group guide. Data were analyzed using a conventional content analysis approach with both inductive and deductive components.

Results: Four overarching themes were identified in the data, including game and learner characteristics, learning outcomes, and implications for future professional practice. The theme of implications for future professional practice included two sub-themes: soft skill development and the real-life nature of the activity.

Conclusion: A nursing educational escape room may be one strategy to enhance student professional practice skills.