Staff needed practical support for navigating escalating interactions in a way that aligned with organizational expectations around safety, communication, and patient experience. While policies outlined general guidance, there was a gap in helping staff understand how to apply those expectations in real-time situations.

The challenge was to design a learning experience that moved beyond static policy review and instead provided a realistic, practice-based environment where learners could explore how different responses influence the direction of an interaction.

I designed this course as a scenario-driven experience that places the learner in the role of the staff member, making decisions throughout a developing interaction. Rather than presenting a single “correct” path, the experience allows learners to explore how different communication choices can escalate or de-escalate a situation.

To reinforce this, I built a custom escalation meter in Storyline that dynamically responds to learner choices and persists across the scenario. This visual feedback helps make the impact of tone, language, and boundary-setting more tangible over time.

The course also includes role-specific considerations, with additional depth for managers around decision-making and escalation thresholds. The overall design focuses on realism, clarity, and giving learners space to think through how they would respond in practice.

• Scenario-based decision-driven learning experience

• Built in Articulate Storyline

• Custom variable-driven escalation meter

• Designed for healthcare staff and managers

• Emphasis on real-time communication and decision-making

• Role-specific pathways with additional manager-focused content

• Focused on practical application and behavior change