At Wende Hall on the University at Buffalo's South Campus, it's a race against time to save Patient X. 

"Patient X needs medication and it's our job to figure out the dosage and what medication is needed," said Sarah Nizinkiewicz, a senior nursing student at UB. 

Much like in a real clinical situation, solving riddles has to be done first. 

"Have to find puzzle pieces scattered throughout the room," Nizinkiewicz explained. 

But it’s also a reality check. On Tuesday morning, Nizinkiewicz and her fellow nursing students Kemi, along with pharmacy students Sneha and Kim, worked through the room, which is set up to mimic not only a medical clinic but an escape room.

"I don't think anything could have prepared me for what this entailed," Nizinkiewicz said. 

Nizinkiewicz doesn't mean in the sense of nursing. There was something else only the escape could teach her: confidence. 

"In clinical, it can be a little scary to walk into the room and talk to the doctors and talk to the pharmacists because it feels like they're in their little world and everyone is separate," Nizinkiewicz said. "But really, it takes a whole team to help the patient. So, gaining this confidence now and with UB exposing us to this early, it's going to help us establish that confidence now so we can give the best care." 

That is the goal of Kelly Foltz-Ramos, director of simulation for UB’s School of Nursing. 

"Communication is really important when keeping patients safe," Foltz-Ramos said. "Having our students feeling comfortable with talking to other professions and knowing their strengths and knowing what their roles are is very important." 

The same is true of working out kinks in the chain of communication.

"They'll know what questions to ask a nurse or a pharmacist because they've worked with them before and they have this knowledge that is helpful to them," said Nicholas Fusco, a clinical associate professor at UB School of Pharmacy. 

Add some trick clues, a time expectation and lock them in a room and you've got a game, with a lesson no grade can top. 

"It really takes an organized approach and everyone being on the same page before you can move forward to the next step," Nizinkiewicz said.