First, second and third place teams received gold, bronze and silver medals at the end of class.

The Great FLO Race

by Dane Harter

What is the Great FLO Race? It’s not only a wacky gameshow-style event that has groups of costumed students racing around Newton and Jane E. Heminger halls, but also an innovative teaching strategy to prepare for the class exam and real-world clinical practice.

Last fall, instructors of Foundational Knowledge for Nursing Practice 1 held their second Great FLO Race – named loosely after Florence Nightingale. All 175 second-year students had an hour and a half to complete tasks to test their clinical knowledge, such as mapping paper organs on a peer’s body and monitoring a mannequin’s vitals in mock medical scenarios. Surprise “disruptors,” such as a wandering, disoriented patient provided bonus points. Fun tasks included taking a selfie with Dean Rose and spelling out “RN” using only their bodies. 

A clinical group practices their log-rolling skills on faculty volunteer, Janine Overcash, who role plays a patient with a neck injury.
A clinical group practices their log-rolling skills on faculty volunteer, Janine Overcash, who role plays a patient with a neck injury.

“We’re making them think on their feet, but in a low-stakes environment where they don’t have to feel nervous, and they can talk to each other and work through things,” said Sarah Warren, MS, APRN-CNP.

31 volunteers, including instructors, family members and the entire staff of the Office of Advancement helped make the Great FLO Race happen. “It’s fun for them to see their nursing professor who teaches Art of Nursing wandering down the hall in a patient gown,” Valerie Miller, MS, RN, FNP-C, said. “The students feel really supported by all the faculty showing up for them.”

“Bringing gamification to the classroom has been a really fun and rewarding experience. We hope to continue the FLO Race for years to come and make it a true College of Nursing tradition,” Sarah Warren said.