What is Pair Up?
Pair Up is a simple game designed to make learning how to interpret blood gases and how to recognise cardiac rhythms and understand their features fun, engaging and inclusive.
- A simple, flexible teaching tool - take advantage of the short, opportunistic teaching opportunities available on a busy ward or more formal sessions
- A great way to add variety to slide-show based sessions
- Designed for 2-4 players or teams
- Encourages engagement and provides an inclusive educational experience
- Both relaxed and informative
How Pair Up works
Pair Up works like the “memory game”. Players discuss how components of blood gas results are inter-related (Pair Up Blood Gases), or match cardiac rhythms with their names or features (Pair Up Cardiac Rhythms) to develop their clinical skills. One player needs a good understanding of the topic to act as a facilitator.
When to use Pair Up
Pair Up is easy to set up and can be used in formal or informal sessions, whenever teaching opportunities come up. All you need is a few minutes to an hour and a flat surface.
The game can also provide a “test” scenario for those aiming to demonstrate their knowledge when completing the National Critical Care Network Step competencies.
Who created Pair Up?
Karen Savva-Irwin,
University Hospitals NHS Trust
"I qualified as an RGN in 1992 having trained in Plymouth, worked in Medical CCU, got some really great teaching from my colleagues, essentially learnt on the job and was inspired to study further. I moved to London 3 years later where I worked in Cardiac Surgery at UCL and completed a Specialist Cardiac Nurse course for medical and surgical nursing.
The opening of a regional Cardiac Surgical Centre in Plymouth drew me back, where I have worked as a Critical Care Sister in this area for 26 years. I have always had a passion for teaching and find it very rewarding to help learners and share my skills and experience. During my time in critical care I have completed 2 year long secondments in the education team and am now a substantive Clinical Educator within the Cardiac Surgical Intensive Care. My own background interest in cardiac patients has earned me the nickname, ‘ECG Queen’ or ‘Pacing Queen,’ at work for a number of years.
Just prior to this I worked for a year as a medicines safety nurse. It was in this role that I discovered an educational game and thought, what a great idea. A subsequent interview, where I was required to teach, made me think - 'how can I deliver topics differently?'. I had an idea and made the game, rustic to be honest, and played it with my interviewers. It worked. It was an easy way to deliver information and involve the target audience.
The more I thought about it afterwards, the more I knew it was a good way to teach. It's inclusive, supportive, interactive, provides opportunities for discussion, demonstrates knowledge, and identifies knowledge gaps for further targeted learning. The Blood Gas and Cardiac Rhythm Games are the result of my passion to teach critical care skills in an interesting and inclusive way."
Who is Pair Up for?
Pair Up is suitable for all nurses, student nurses, clinical educators and nursing education teams.
Pair Up Blood Gases would be particularly relevant for nurses in all areas of Critical Care, Emergency Departments, and some theatres.
Pair Up Cardiac Rhythms would be particularly relevant for nurses in Critical Care, Emergency Departments, Cardiac Care Units and Cardiology and Level 1 ward areas.
The games may also be relevant to medical students and junior doctors.
"These games are very adaptive, working well in groups of student nurses, staff new to Critical Care and experienced staff needing to refresh or further develop their knowledge, even in combined groups. These are amazing resources to utilise for planned and targeted learning opportunities. These will be an invaluable resource to our unit and training arsenal on a permanent basis. I look forward to being able to promote groups activities whilst providing learning opportunities to our staff."
Clinical Educator, Torrington Cardiothoracic Intensive Care, University Hospital of Plymouth
"As a Cardiothoracic Anaesthetist and an educator I think these are a superb education tool. They allow a learning conversation around a game that is very accessible and allows learners to gain an understanding of potentially difficult subjects around arterial blood gas analysis and ECG understanding. It is really refreshing to see a different approach to facilitating learning and I think these work really well. I shall definitely be encouraging their use in my department."
Consultant Cardiothoracic Anaesthetist - University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
Visit the Focus Games online shop to buy a PAIR UP game and to see our other games.
Blood Gases:
£18.00 exc. VAT, P&P
Cardiac Rhythms:
£25.00 exc. VAT, P&P
