Nursing Students' Views on the Virtual Escape Room Application

Background: Using the gamification method, which transforms information into a game, is important in increasing the students' motivation and ensuring their active participation. The escape room application, an innovative method and one of the examples of gamification that can be used in the education process, will contribute to the skill development of nursing students. Objectives: This research was planned to determine the students' opinions about the virtual escape room application in postoperative patient care. Design: This study is of descriptive and cross-sectional type. Methods: This study was conducted with 3rd and 4th year nursing students who took the surgical diseases course at the Faculty of Health Sciences of a foundation university in Istanbul between February 2021 and May 2021. Data were collected with Postoperative Nursing Care Form and Personal Information Form. Chi-square analysis was used to determine the relationship between the number percent distribution and the categorical variable in the data analysis. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 21.74±0.94. 51.1% of the students are women, and 61.8% are 3rd-grade students. They stated that 100% of the students liked the virtual escape game, 32.6% found it fun, and showed knowledge about the surgery lesson. Students did not choose the items I am undecided, disagree, and completely disagree on this 5-point Likert-type scale. Conclusion: The results obtained from this study showed that nursing students' views about the virtual escape room were positive. They also said they learned and had fun during the virtual escape room game.