Board game teaches nurses how to care for burn injury patients

The Burns Game tests healthcare professionals with questions and scenarios about how to care for burn patients.

An educational board game has been launched to help nurses and other health professionals boost their knowledge of how to care for emergency burn patients.

The Burns Game is based on a traditional board game and has been developed to address knowledge gaps.

About 130,000 people visit emergency departments in England with burn injuries each year and an estimated 10,000 are admitted to hospital.

Limited training

They receive immediate care from a range of emergency professionals, but they may not be burns specialists and may have had limited training in burn care, according to Birmingham City University (BCU), which developed the game.

The game covers topics including first aid, airway and breathing, wound assessment, referral and transfer and specialist burn injuries.

Players face questions and scenarios and must discuss their answers with teammates, allowing knowledge and expertise to be shared.

The game was developed with educational games company Focus Games and the British Burn Association.

Improving management

BCU head of wound study Steven Jeffery, a consultant burns and plastic surgeon at The Birmingham Burns Centre, said the game will improve the initial management of burn injury.

This can greatly improve the final cosmetic and functional result for the patient, according to Professor Jeffery, who was part of the development team.  

The Burns Game costs £60 and can be purchased here.