Internship at Laerdal Medical:

Transforming Nursing Education with MySkills

Introduction:

During my internship at Laerdal Medical, I was immersed in the pioneering project "MySkills," aimed at revolutionizing how nursing skills are learned and acquired. As a UX designer within a cross-functional team, I contributed to developing and testing the initial conceptual prototype of MySkills with nursing students.

NDA: Given the sensitive nature of the projects, some details are protected under an NDA. Feel free to contact me for more info or discussion on the work I contributed to.

Project overview:

The MySkills project was at the intersection of design, technology, and education, striving to validate advanced educational concepts. Our goal was to showcase the project's business value and potential for future development by balancing technical feasibility, design innovation, and business strategy.

Duration: September - December 2022

Responsibilities and Contributions:

  • Prototype Development: I developed the interactive second version of the MySkills prototype, incorporating design revisions based on initial feedback.

  • User Testing and Feedback: I planned prototype testing with over 15 nursing students during a remote conference, collecting valuable feedback on the user flow and usability, which informed further iterations of the prototype.

  • Strategic Presentation: I presented a comprehensive UX report detailing our findings and recommendations to over three business directors, influencing strategic planning for the nursing segment.

Tool used:

The project utilized tools such as Figma for UI/UX design, Mural for collaborative ideation, Dovetail for organizing user feedback, and Microsoft Teams for communication and coordination across the team.

The Process and My Experience

The journey was a blend of learning and adaptation. From delving into educational materials to mapping out user journeys with the guidance of nurse learning specialists, every step was an opportunity to deepen my understanding and refine our approach. The user testing phase was particularly illuminating, revealing direct insights from our target audience that shaped the second version of our prototype. Embracing the uncertainty inherent in such a groundbreaking project, I took on more ownership and proactively offered UX insights to lead our project forward.

Learnings

  • This experience challenged me to demonstrate the indispensable value of UX design in a multidisciplinary team and highlighted the importance of adaptable strategies in user testing. Despite the initial user tests not fully validating our assumptions due to prototype fidelity and preparation time constraints, the lessons learned were invaluable.

  • I learned the need for rigorous planning, clear metric setting, and the agility to adapt to feedback and technical limitations.

The Impact

My contributions played a crucial role in guiding the team from concept to technical validation. The recognition of my work by the UX manager, culminating in a letter of recommendation, and my final presentation to the business directors not only marked the culmination of my internship but also set a strategic direction for future developments. My comprehensive UX report provided actionable insights for upcoming team recruitment and design considerations.

Conclusion

Reflecting on my internship at Laerdal Medical, I take pride in the strides we made towards enhancing nursing education through UX design. The journey from conceptualization to validation underscored the transformative potential of UX in educational technology, and the experience has profoundly influenced my approach to design challenges, reaffirming my commitment to creating impactful, user-centered solutions.