Penn Highlands Residency - Escape Room 2021

We enjoyed our POMA sponsored resident retreat having lunch locally and then splitting into two groups to complete two different escape room activities. We originally wanted to eat at a locally owned restaurant called Napoli’s but unfortunately, they were closed for indoor dining due to COVID...

 We then reserved a table at a local boxcar called Doolittle’s to have pizza. We then split into two groups (girls versus boys) to complete two different one-hour long escape room activities. These activities consisted of paying close attention to detail, working as team, continuing to communicate with each other, and thinking outside of the box. The evening consisted of a lot of laughter and a relaxing atmosphere allowing us to destress form our daily clinic duties. Thank you for sponsoring this event for us. The residents all rated it as a 5/5 for a very fun and enjoyable event

Results/Outcome Survey
1. What was the general understanding of the purpose of the project/program by participants?
The general understanding of the purpose of the project/program by participants was working as team, using communication, and the benefit of having different personalities in a team.
2. During the project/program, what tangible tools or strategies were demonstrated or taught (i.e, coping skills for wellness and life balance)?
During the project/program, the tangible tools and strategies that were demonstrated was communication, team-work, attention to detail, and problem solving.
3. What word(s) best describes how you feel when you are experiencing stress or well-being imbalance?
The words that best describe how we feel when experiencing stress of well-being imbalance is burn out, overwhelmed, feeling unorganized, feeling tired, and having a bad mood.
4. What suggestions do you have to increase the probability of success for the project/program for other institutions?
Suggestions we have to increase the probability of success for the project/program for other residency programs is to have more wellness activities, incorporate breaks for residents when they start to feel overwhelmed, and decrease responsibilities when it gets overwhelming.
5. What do you intend to do, upon returning to work, that you learned and practiced during the activity, that will improve your response to stressful situations?
To improve our responses to future stressful situations, we intend to use our communication skills, teamwork skills, take breaks from work, and reflect on what’s important to break down the stressor.