Paramedic students learn about identifying hazards and looking for clues in an escape room on campus tailored with puzzles to build hands-on experience.
The students have escape room days in addition to their lectures and labs.
During an escape room day, students are taken into a specialized room where they simulate the experience of walking into a medical emergency.
“I love it … because it’s so intricate and because it’s so meaningful and because it’s relevant to their assessment skills,” Trisha Wanamaker, the paramedic program instructional specialist, said.
In the room, students assess the environment for hazards that could pose a threat to them. They look for clues that hint at the medical situation in the simulation. They then do a detailed body assessment of a mannequin in the simulation and use this information to solve six puzzles in a 90-minute session, according to Wanamaker.
They’re not allowed to leave the room until they solve all of the puzzles.
Wanamaker said she got the idea to develop an escape room after visiting Atlantic City in November 2023.
“It’s a very different world from where I grew up in,” Wanamaker said. “The college is allowing us to, kind of, meet students where they’re at and … what they’re growing up with, and I think that’s key.”
Wanamaker said she didn’t realize how difficult creating an escape room would be.
“There’s a lot of moving pieces and a lot of parts, so [it was] very intense to create it,” Wanamaker said. “The feedback from every single student has been, by far, fantastic.”
Jordan Hopkins, a second-year paramedic student, said he had a “positive experience overall” in the escape room, with “no complaints.”
“I like the hands-on education … [and] the interactions we are able to have with teachers,” Hopkins said.
Michael Ebanks, a second-year paramedic student, said the escape room “has definitely challenged me to dig deep into what I really know.”
Ebanks said, “It has helped me expand [my knowledge] and become an even better person and really [use] my critical thinking skills.”
Second-year paramedic student Tavaris Murray said the knowledge he learned from the escape room is “outstanding” and “second to none.”
And second-year paramedic student Jermaine Mills, who works for the Prince George’s County Fire Department, said the escape room helped him grow as a firefighter and first responder.
“I’m excited to take the knowledge I gained in this program and apply it onto the field,” Mills said.