CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN IMPACT & AWARENESS.
INTRODUCTION
The RUSH Center for Clinical Skills & Simulation delivers advanced, simulation-based training for interprofessional healthcare teams and practitioners across disciplines and experience levels. At its core, the work is about one thing: preparing clinicians to make the right call when it matters most—when a real patient is on the table. Housed in a 20,000-square-foot facility, the Center is at the forefront of improving clinical education and patient outcomes. Despite its exceptional offerings, its visibility did not match its impact. Awareness remained largely concentrated within the university ecosystem, national reach was limited, and its brand narrative lacked clear differentiation in an increasingly competitive landscape of academic medical simulation programs. I was brought in to articulate a compelling, differentiated position and translate complex technical excellence into persuasive messaging online and through video to help expand visibility and credibility.
Research & discovery
Competitive analysis
Audience analysis
Brand positioning
Website design
Video storytelling & production
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
HIGH STAKES, HIGH IMPACT
To clarify the RUSH sim Center’s market position and growth opportunity, I led a structured discovery phase focused on competitive landscape, audience needs, and institutional strengths. I conducted in-depth interviews with senior faculty, simulation leaders, and administrative stakeholders to understand not just what the Center offered, but what it meant to the people who trained there—how it changed how they thought, how they performed, and how they showed up for patients. I audited peer medical simulation programs to identify patterns in positioning and differentiation, researched healthcare professional training gaps and continuing education priorities, and visited the facility to observe live simulations firsthand.
Being in that room changed the direction of the work. Watching clinicians navigate high-pressure scenarios made clear what the data alone couldn't. This wasn't just a training facility. It was a place where human performance got built. That insight became the foundation for everything that followed.
BRAND POSITIONING & NARRATIVE DEVELOPMENT
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE & DEATH
The research pointed to a clear opportunity. While most simulation centers lead with equipment and square footage, few articulate what it actually feels like to train there and what that experience produces in the people who go through it. The positioning that emerged centered the RUSH Sim Center not as a facility, but as an immersive rehearsal environment for real-world medical performance. It’s a place where clinicians practice the decisions, the teamwork, and the judgment that determine patient outcomes.
The narrative reframed the RUSH Sim Center around a simple human truth: the gap between knowing what to do and being able to do it under pressure is where patient safety lives. Simulation training closes that gap. That positioning informed all messaging, web content, and multimedia storytelling that followed.
WEBSITE STRATEGY & DEVELOPMENT
BUILDING A DISTINCT DIGITAL IDENTITY
At the time, the RUSH Sim Center operated as a hard-to-find microsite embedded within the broader RUSH University website, limiting discoverability and reinforcing the perception that it was a sub-program rather than a destination. I led the strategic separation and development of a standalone digital presence.
The work included:
Wireframing a new site architecture based on healthcare professional information needs
Reorganizing navigation around clear user pathways
Clarifying the distinction between university affiliation and independent program identity
Integrating high-impact simulation imagery to visually communicate realism and intensity
After defining structure and content, I built the website in Wordpress, translating strategy directly into execution and ensuring the full ownership of the platform. The result was a purpose-built site designed to attract, inform, and convert professional audiences.
VIDEO STRATEGY & PRODUCTION
BRINGING THE EXPERIENCE TO LIFE
Videos put a prospective participant inside the experience. I developed a complementary video storytelling strategy to show—not just tell—what training there looks and feels like. The resulting suite of videos introduced the program through a high-level promotional film, showcased specific simulations in action, and captured the emotional reality of training in an environment designed to push clinicians to their edge. Seeing real practitioners navigate real scenarios, make real mistakes, and work through them together is what makes the case for the RUSH Sim Center more powerfully than any brochure could. These assets were integrated across the website and used in broader outreach.