By Patricia Deal, CRDAMC Public Affairs

FORT HOOD (Now designated Fort Cavazos), Texas—Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center staff tested their knowledge of proper patient safety practices as they competed in various events during the Patient Safety Week challenge March 26-30 here.

 “Any time you can make learning fun and interactive, people are more apt to retain that information. Just viewing information on slides in a power point presentation doesn’t motivate people to want to learn,” said Alysson James, a nurse in Patient Safety who created the “Escape Room” event as part of the challenge.

Teams entering the Escape Room had to discover clues which helped them unlock different boxes to ultimately get the code to the main door. The team who escaped in the fastest time won.

“The clues and solutions were all related to patient safety and tested participants’ knowledge on relevant topics such as the National Patient Safety Goals and MEDCEN regulations covering patient safety,” James said. “I think that since the participants had to work so hard to come up with the answers, the information they learned will stick with them.”

Other interactive events of the challenge that tested staff’s knowledge of patient safety included a game of Jeopardy, a hand washing challenge and a “Room of Errors” where participants had to identify patient safety violations staged in the room.

Staff from Inpatient Services earned the most points for the week, winning the coveted badge accessed, reserved parking spot for three months.

National Patient Safety Awareness Week offers an opportunity for hospital staff to recognize the importance of quality care and patient safety throughout the Military Health System and for military treatment facilities to use best practices to ensure consistent delivery of care to service members, veterans and their families.