Denver Health nurse educators use games for staff learning

Colorado’s Denver Health is using games to help train newly hired nurses. A scavenger hunt developed in 2014 familiarizes players with the health system’s campus and policies. During the pandemic, the health system took the in-person hunt online, allowing players to navigate a virtual campus. The health system is currently fine tuning a virtual escape room, where nurses on the hospital’s night shift will use clues to avert an impending disaster, which threatens the hospital’s computer systems. Studies show games are effective at promoting active learning. Denver Health’s games also familiarize nurses with nationally defined indicators of nursing quality. (HealthLeaders Media article, 4/19/21)