If you’re looking for a novel way to refresh your nursing education in 2023, then look no further than the team at Cairns Hospital.
Late last year, clinical nurses (CN) from the respiratory, renal, and gastroenterology wards took part in a gamified educational activity about the patient journey based on the television show The Amazing Race.
Trina Pitts, Nurse Educator for Cairns Hospital said the activity required teams to safely journey the ‘patient’ through the hospital to reach their ‘discharge’ by following clues that led them to various locations throughout the hospital.
“At each stop they had to complete a task in order to receive the next clue. The tasks incorporated the responsibilities of a CN, for example, clinical skills and knowledge, quality improvement, education, and patient and bed management,” she said.
L–R: Francis Mwanza, Di Kikuchi, Karen Weisser, Tarryn Russo, Yvette O'Brien, Michelle Clark
Trina said the overall aim of the innovative education session was to not only make education fun and engaging but to also highlight the role of CNs in supporting a safe patient journey, foster teamwork, and build leadership capability.
“The concept, design, creation, and planning were a collaborative effort between our nurse education leaders including myself, our nurse unit manager and clinical facilitators.”
While it was a close competition, the “Kangu Runners” (Karen, Taryn and Di) ultimately took out the inaugural Cairns Hospital Amazing Patient Journey Race and received a $50 pizza voucher for their efforts, kindly donated by the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation.
Based on the success of the first ‘race’, Trina is running another session on February 23 with even more participants.
More inofrmation
For tips on how to set up an Amazing Race in your hospital, contact Trina Pitts via the Queensland Health Outlook address book (internal access only) or email us at CEQ-Engage@health.qld.gov.au.
