About NursEd

Making nursing and education better

“We have accumulated stupendous know-how… but avoidable failures are common, and the reason is increasingly clear: the volume and complexity of our knowledge has exceeded our ability to consistently deliver it.”

– Atul Gawande

Transforming the landscape of healthcare

As healthcare professionals, you know that traditional learning methods like textbooks, lengthy guidelines, and lectures don’t always translate to better patient care. Science backs this up. Research in cognitive science and educational psychology reveals that we retain only 30% of traditionally taught information after 24 hours. But there’s a better way.

Trusted by Nurses, Proven by Research

Healthcare has evolved dramatically over the past few decades. With infinite information but finite mental capacity to learn and consistently apply what we know, we face unprecedented challenges in staying up to date and delivering consistent care.

Dr. Atul Gawande explains there are two reasons that we may err in healthcare: ignorance and ineptitude. The first is when we don’t know enough. The second is when we know, but fail to apply that knowledge correctly. In healthcare, we don’t just fail because we lack knowledge. We fail because the volume and complexity of what we know exceeds our ability to consistently deliver it correctly. Even the most experienced practitioners can miss critical steps.

Traditional teaching and learning methods like lectures, books and information-saturated guidelines represent a “just-in-case” approach where we are given large amounts of information in advance of needing it. This often doesn’t align with how we naturally learn, retain and apply information. Instead, “just-in-time” content delivers focused, relevant content exactly when we need to apply it, making information more accessible, practical, and easier to implement in real-world situations. Cognitive science and educational psychology research supports “just-in-time” learning. Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) research shows that our working memory has limited capacity, making it more efficient to learn information when it’s immediately relevant. We retain information when learning is connected to immediate use and we perform better when information is delivered close to the point of need.

Meet our founder

Gillian Elmes, Primary Healthcare Nurse Practitioner

Welcome, I’m glad you’re here.

From filing patient charts in a family physician’s office at age 8 to running a private homecare business for seniors in my community when I was 16, I’ve always had an instinct for identifying healthcare challenges and taking action. This early exposure sparked a lifelong commitment to improving healthcare delivery.

With decades of frontline experience in long-term and primary care, coupled with leadership roles across public and private sectors, I’ve honed my ability to spot systemic issues and build practical solutions. My strength lies in making connections and transforming problems into opportunities for better patient care.

Through NursEd, founded in 2017, I’m realizing my vision of healthcare transformation – building a future where nurses and nurse practitioners can access the right information at the right time, delivering exceptional patient care while building sustainable, fulfilling careers.

We know that in healthcare, memory alone isn’t sufficient. Missing small details can have significant consequences. Checklists and point-of-care information can enhance expertise, providing systematic approaches to manage complex assessments and decisions.

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