Nursa started with a simple but painful truth: medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S. (according to a 2016 study, always citing sources, ya’ll). Yet most go unreported. Not because nurses don’t care, but because the systems built to capture these reports are clunky, intimidating, and often silent in return
Company
Co-Op
Timeline
2023
—
2023
Role
UX Designer
Full Case Study
Project overview
For many nurses, reporting an error feels almost like making one. Fear of embarrassment, confusing software, and lack of follow-up create a culture of silence. Instead of preventing future harm, reporting systems often reinforce shame and underreporting. Coming from a family of doctors, I know firsthand how critical these reporting systems are and how devastating it is when they fail.
This project was personal to me in a different way. During my UX co-op at Centene Corporation, I saw how broken these workflows could feel. Since much of my official work was under NDA, I built Nursa to keep exploring those challenges… together with one other designer, under the guidance of my mentor. We presented it at my final co-op showcase, and it turned out to be one of the most well-received projects of the program.
Nursa was my attempt to reimagine error reporting as something human : transparent, safe, and judgment-free.
(And yes, sometimes you’ll see it called ThriveWorks. I liked “Nursa,” my teammate liked “ThriveWorks.” I’m stubborn. You know how that ended.)
Challenges
How might we design an error reporting system that feels safe, supportive, and easy enough to use even on a high-stress shift? And the bigger question: how do you design for psychological safety, so nurses don’t feel punished just for speaking up?
On top of that, we had to account for both nurse-facing and admin-facing workflows (and even reporting on behalf of others). Tackling something that complex as just two designers? Let’s just say our love for problem-solving and a lot of content mapping kept us afloat.
Once we dug deeper, we realized the problem wasn’t just the existence of reporting systems it was how they made nurses feel. The tools were clunky, the process felt punitive, and the outcome was often silence. No wonder underreporting was the norm.
Existing tools felt punitive, complex, or outdated.
Reports went into a “black box” with no feedback loop.
Nurses under time pressure avoided reporting altogether.
To change that, we designed features that turned reporting into something supportive and transparent:
Auto-populated OSHA forms → reduced friction under stress.
Visual breadcrumbs → gave users confidence about where they were in the process.
Seamless case access → let admins stay in control without endless tab-hopping.
Conversational AI bot → offered onboarding and support without replacing human judgment.
Results
Nursa reframed error reporting as a step toward improvement, not punishment. At showcase, stakeholders praised it for relevance and clarity and the concept of a “reporting therapist” AI assistant sparked a lot of interest for future use.
Reimagined OSHA + Workers’ Comp flows to be accessible, human-centered, and compliant.
Designed admin dashboards that kept clarity without overwhelming users.
Introduced an empathetic AI assistant concept to guide, not dictate.
Heavy documentation and UX checklists are survival skills when designing complex systems with a small team.
Prioritization is key: not everything needs to be perfect at once, but the right things must be.
Most importantly: design isn’t just about compliance, it’s about compassion.
See more of it in the Figma File!
Full Case Study
