Why Custom Learning Programs are Essential for Health Care Organizations

In an environment where clinical and operational challenges evolve rapidly, health care organizations increasingly require educational strategies that are adaptable and deeply aligned with their specific context. Custom corporate learning programs have emerged as a strategic response to this need, especially for organizations operating within health care, where the implications of training extend beyond professional development and into the quality of patient outcomes, regulatory compliance, and system-wide efficiency. 

While off-the-shelf learning remains valuable for foundational knowledge, its limitations become clear when training must reflect an organization’s strategic priorities, clinical realities, or cultural nuances. These complexities have led Harvard Medical School (HMS) Corporate Learning to explore how tailored educational design can better address the specific learning needs of health care organizations. Experts from the HMS Corporate Learning team offer insights into how such programs are conceived, how they respond to client objectives, and why they are particularly effective in health care settings.

Unique Learning Challenge in Health Care 

Health care organizations operate in a fundamentally different environment than other industries. As Josh Brand, HMS senior director of corporate learning, explains, “It is literally life or death… It’s done one patient at a time.” He adds that health care is “hyper-local” and “team-based,” meaning care delivery requires deep understanding of local context, regulations, and patient populations while coordinating across multidisciplinary teams of specialists, nurses, technicians, and support staff.

Addressing Real-World Complexity

Custom learning programs excel at tracking multifaceted challenges. Consider artificial intelligence (AI) implementation, a topic that involves technical capabilities, ethical considerations, regulatory compliance, and operational integration. Brand notes how organizations now take a sophisticated approach, “Companies are not only asking to educate their people on how AI is being used in their specific part of the health care industry.” 

Many companies are taking things a step further. In biopharmaceuticals, for example, organizations are working to understand how clinicians use AI in diagnosis so they can design therapies that align with real-world clinical workflows. Similarly, medical device companies are exploring how AI influences surgical decision-making to develop tools that enhance—rather than disrupt—the operating room experience.

Supporting Organizational Transformation

Programs tailored to organizational needs serve as catalysts for fundamental change rather than just addressing skill gaps. Brand shares, “We have a client that has been very successful for a long time in one line of business, and that line of business is under threat. This client is making significant investments to diversify into new, high growth lines of business.” 

The resulting program, designed by HMS, addressed both strategic alignment and capability development, enabling accelerated execution of new business strategies.

Deep Organizational Understanding

Effective custom programs begin with a comprehensive needs assessment. Eric Vogt, director of business development for the Corporate Learning team at HMS, emphasized the importance of asking open-ended questions early in the process to gain a clearer understanding of an organization’s challenges and goals. From there, the teams can work their way into more direct questions and start building out the objectives for the learning experience.

These programs go beyond surface-level goals to uncover the specific challenges an organization is trying to address. These conversations are a key part of the process and often reveal gaps between what organizations think they need and what will support their strategy.

Building Programs for Real-World Impact

Suzanna Rivituso, associate director of program management for HMS Corporate Learning, emphasizes the importance of engaging subject matter experts early.  “Faculty directors bring their expertise in both content and pedagogy, often reshaping client assumptions to ensure the program actually supports deep learning.”

A prime example of this is Sanofi’s custom program, Building Clinical Development Expertise (February-June 2024), which exemplifies the high-impact cooperation between global biopharmaceutical organizations and HMS faculty. The program’s objectives were aligned with Sanofi’s focus on advancing clinical research capabilities. Learning goals included real-world evidence and analyzing the implications of new technologies such as AI in clinical trial design. Participants were also trained to produce publishable reports from trial outcomes and to assess methodological strengths and weaknesses across diverse trial formats.

As Sanofi’s Susana Skiadaressis, medical operations – international region, shares, “At Sanofi, we work every day to find innovative solutions to unmet health care needs. HMS Corporate Learning is helping us achieve this by equipping our teams with the right capabilities.”

Following the success of this initial program, Sanofi and HMS have launched a 2025 initiative, focused on AI in health care.

Executive Commitment

Brand emphasizes that senior leadership commitment is essential. “Senior level support is critical. If a company is going to ask its employees to invest their time and energy in engaging in the custom learning experience, they are going to want to know why.”

Employees need direct communications from senior leadership explaining the strategic importance of their educational investment and its connection to organizational objectives. Meaning CEOs and senior leaders should introduce programs, explain how the learning aligns with business strategies, and demonstrate ongoing engagement throughout the program duration. When leaders visibly prioritize learning by attending sessions, referencing program content in meetings, or sharing how insights apply to strategic decisions, they show their employees their commitment and encourage participation.

Cooperative Transparency

Successful programs require what Brand calls “an open, honest, two-way street” where the program developers communicate learner insights and clients provide candid feedback about program effectiveness.

From the program development side, teams must share real-time observations about learner engagement and emerging needs. Rivituso adds, “We ask the participants for feedback and have checkpoints throughout the program to see how things are going.” From the client side, transparency means honest assessment of program effectiveness and willingness to request adjustments when content either doesn’t resonate or organizational priorities shift.

What Sets HMS Apart

HMS’s distinction lies not only in its medical and scientific expertise but in its ability to apply that knowledge to organizational learning. “What really resonates is that we understand health care,” Vogt says. 

Whether the topic is leadership, change management, or innovation, HMS brings a contextual understanding that clients recognize as unique.

For many organizations, a tailored program becomes a gateway to deeper engagement. As with Sanofi, a single program can expand into an enduring relationship across teams, topics, and delivery models.

As health care and medicine evolve at an unprecedented pace, organizations face increasingly complex operational and scientific challenges. In this environment, learning must not only inform but also translate into better outcomes for patients. Education shaped by consultation, grounded in academic rigor, and delivered collaboratively can help align efforts toward a shared goal: advancing health and alleviating human suffering. Harvard Medical School develops learning opportunities that empower organizations to meet these emerging challenges and drive meaningful improvements in health worldwide.

Learn how Harvard Medical School works with organizations to extend its commitment to education as a powerful force for improving health—empowering teams with the skills, knowledge, and connections they need to lead meaningful change and advance health worldwide.