Smith+Nephew and Totara: Transforming Medical Education, Empowering Healthcare Professionals Worldwide

Smith+Nephew is a leading global provider of cutting-edge products in orthopaedic reconstruction, sports medicine, ENT, trauma and extremities, and wound management. With distribution spanning over 100 countries and a listing on the London Stock Exchange, it holds a prestigious position in the esteemed FTSE 100 Index, underscoring its substantial impact on the worldwide healthcare industry.

The Challenge

At the core of Smith+Nephew’s dedication to advancing medical knowledge and enhancing patient outcomes lies the creation of an inclusive and easily accessible learning environment customized to meet the needs of healthcare professionals. Through the S+N Academy training centres, the company actively transforms global customer education by providing cutting-edge technology, clinical insights, and scientific evidence.

Moreover, S+N Academy Online acts as a worldwide hub for medical education, enabling healthcare professionals and caregivers to access the latest peer-to-peer scientific knowledge and education-based best practices. Its goal is to deliver thought leadership and content across a range of medical specialties, including orthopaedic reconstruction, sports medicine, ENT, trauma and extremities, and wound management, solidifying Smith+Nephew commitment to advancing global medical education and enhancing patient care.

The Solution

The implementation of Totara in Smith+Nephew Academy Online platform is a continuous dynamic approach to medical education. Serving as a comprehensive nexus for healthcare professionals worldwide, it provides access to cutting-edge educational resources tailored to individual needs.

Through seamless integration with Smith+Nephew primary website, Totara enables efficient knowledge dissemination on a global scale. Its key strength lies in its adaptability, empowering S+N to customize content delivery to meet diverse audience needs including geographical considerations and compliance with local regulations.

The S+N Academy Online features a wide range of resources designed to meet the specific learning preferences of healthcare professionals with various professions (surgeons, community and specialised nurses, physiotherapists, etc.). Additionally, Totara’s robust features, encompassing content management, onboarding tools and compliance tracking, provide a comprehensive solution for managing Smith+Nephew’s learning initiatives. Targeted reporting facilitates evidence-based decision-making and continuous improvement in educational strategies. The user-friendly interface with intuitive navigation, personalised educational pathways and interactive features fosters higher engagement and knowledge retention.

Totara’s custom extensions support multimedia content tracking, ensuring the effectiveness of educational materials. Integration with Zoom enables comprehensive attendance tracking, covering a set percentage of attendance for a webinar completion according to regulatory guidelines. Coveo’s AI search engine enhances content discovery, enabling users to efficiently find relevant information tailored to their needs and preferences. A custom solution for importing and integrating results from VR trainings provides Healthcare Professionals with immersive learning experiences. The platform is to support multilanguage content and interface, accommodating diverse learners from various linguistic backgrounds, ensuring an accessible and inclusive educational experience. As the project continues to grow and improve, the current implementation of Totara Engage solidifies Smith+Nephew Academy Online as a global leader in medical education.

 The Result

Through the implementation of Totara Learn for the S+N Academy Online platform, significant business objectives were achieved, ultimately leading to tangible improvements in organizational efficiency and effectiveness.

• By consolidating medical education resources in the Academy platform, S+N witnessed a remarkable 250% increase in registered users with 10 000+ training sessions within a year. This surge in engagement directly translates to a more informed and proficient group of healthcare professionals, leading to enhanced patient outcomes.
• The integration of Totara with S+N’s existing systems, including the CMS and user management ensured comprehensive compliance with various healthcare regulatory measures concerning visibility and access control within Totara.
• By incorporating Zoom to track webinar attendance and Coveo’s AI search engine for content discovery, the learning processes were streamlined. This resulted in increased productivity and efficiency for users. As Coveo seamlessly integrated with Totara, it transformed the search, leading to a quicker user experience, heightened search capabilities, and precision in recommendations. This enhancement greatly optimized the overall user engagement within the S+N Academy platform.

• The ongoing integration with a unified database connected to PowerBI for analytics, offers valuable insights into learning outcomes and user engagement patterns. This data-driven approach empowers evidence-based decision-making and allows S+N to continuously refine its educational strategies. By leveraging PowerBI, the company gains the ability to pinpoint trends, evaluate the effectiveness of training programs, and make well-informed decisions to elevate the overall learning journey.
• The ongoing implementation of Engage elevates the platform’s functionalities by offering interactive learning opportunities and the perspective of a collaborative environment as well as libraries of content for learners. This not only boosts engagement but also encourages the sharing of knowledge and enhances retention, ultimately resulting in improved learning outcomes.
• The successful implementation of Totara TXP for S+N Academy Online platform nurtured a culture of continuous learning and professional growth, demonstrated by high course completion rates, increased productivity, enhanced decision-making fuelled by data-driven insights, and amplified satisfaction. By investing in a robust system like Totara, Smith+Nephew has positioned itself as a leader in medical education, driving innovation and excellence in healthcare delivery.

“In today’s fast-paced world, the demand for accessible and personalised Medical Education has never been greater. At the forefront of this evolutionstands Smith+Nephew Academy Online, leading an external-facing learning platform that is poised to transform the way healthcare professionals (HCPs) learn and grow, the primary purpose of medical education is supporting the safe and effective use of our products and technologies. A keystone of our platform lies in the strategic choice of Totara Learn, with the imminent addition of Totara Engage. This decision reflects our unwavering commitment to flexibility, customization, and seamless integration with a plethora of learning technologies within our ecosystem

“Our vision is ambitious yet achievable: to provide HCPs with a learning environment that is accessible anytime, anywhere, and personalized to meet the unique needs of each individual. Whether it is a surgeon seeking to refine their skills, a pharmacist, a physician assistant or a nurse looking to stay updated on the latest medical advancements, Smith+Nephew Academy Online is dedicated to catering to diverse learning requirements. At the heart of our mission lies the aspiration of inspiring HCPs with S+N Academy Online, focused on improving patient outcomes and providing evidence to support standard of care. In conclusion, Smith+Nephew Academy Online is not just a learning platform; it aims to become a catalyst for change in medical education. With our commitment to innovation, accessibility, and personalized learning experiences, we are envisioning to shape the future state of Medical Education.”