Insight Drop: How XR and Storytelling Are Rewriting Medical Education
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Medical Communications isn’t about clarity, it’s about impact. In the latest episode of Transforming Medical Communications, host Wesley Portegies sits down with Sabrina Guigan, Medical Communications expert, to explore how extended reality (XR) and multisensory engagement can turn traditional congress booths into high-impact educational experiences that stand out, deepen clinical understanding, and drive measurable outcomes.
In this episode, you’ll learn how to:
- Leverage extended reality (XR) technology to improve medical learning
- Engage multisensory learning styles
- Successfully measure the impact of immersive educational experiences
- Build cross-functional collaboration
Guest at a Glance
Sabrina McGuigan is the Global Medical Communications Lead for Rare GI at Takeda, where she specializes in omnichannel strategy and innovative Medical Communications. With a unique background combining theater design and two decades of EMT experience, she brings a multifaceted approach to creating impactful medical education experiences. She has pioneered the use of extended reality (XR) technology in Medical Communications, successfully implementing immersive educational experiences at major medical conferences that enhance understanding of rare diseases and patient journeys.
- Connect with Sabrina on LinkedIn
Host at a Glance
Wesley Portegies is the Chief Strategy Officer and Founder of Medical Communications Experts, an agency specializing in effective Medical Communication strategies for pharmaceutical companies. An experienced entrepreneur, Wesley started his first company at 19 and has built multiple successful companies. With over 20 years in the Medical Industry, both on the agency and industry side, he is driven by a passion for Medical Communications.
Hot Takes and Key Highlights
- 03:25 – Theater Meets Science: Crafting Multisensory Learning That Sticks
Education in MedComms must evolve beyond one-size-fits-all formats. Multisensory engagement leverages how adults actually learn by activating different areas of the brain through sight, sound, and touch. This isn’t just about variety; it’s about deeper cognitive engagement, longer retention, and emotional resonance. Especially in rare diseases, it’s not enough to convey the “what”; we must connect it to the “why it matters.” If your MedComms strategies aren’t making learners feel something, they’re forgettable.
“We’re not just teaching data and teaching the patient journey. We’re also teaching the experience. Like you said, we’re connecting the heart to the numbers.”
- 08:25 – Use XR to Drive Deeper Clinical Understanding and Diagnostic Action
Traditional visuals and slides can’t compete with immersive learning. By walking HCPs into the molecular and organ-level processes behind a disease, XR builds a visceral understanding of disease progression, something static posters never will. When HCPs can see and interact with pathology, it fosters stronger recall and better diagnostic instinct. This is critical in rare diseases where misdiagnosis is common and early intervention can be life-changing.
“We utilized extended reality, and we created an experience where you put on the lenses and the clinician walks into the body so they can see the point at which the mutation occurs on the chromosome that drives the misfolding of these proteins.”
- 13:50 – Cool Tech Isn’t a Strategy. Story Is.
XR or AR should never be the story; it should serve the story. Too often, booths deploy technology for novelty instead of educational impact. Success depends on a scientific narrative that is reinforced, rather than obscured, by interactivity. Identify the key learning moments first, then match them to tactile or immersive actions. Technology without narrative is noise; narrative with well-integrated technology is transformation.
“I’ve seen AR, XR, and VR experiences done where they’re good, they’re very clean. The tactile part is maybe not as tied to the story, and I think that’s important too.”
- 15:40 – Get Compliance on Board by Treating Them Like Partners
Innovation doesn’t die in review because it’s too bold; it fails when stakeholders aren’t included early. The path forward? Treat compliance and MLR as collaborators, not barriers. Share storyboards, walk them through the experience, and be ready to revise, but don’t wait until the eleventh hour. When reviewers understand your intent and see the rigor behind your claims, they become allies. This approach not only builds trust but also accelerates approvals and raises the bar for what’s possible.
“From very early stages, set up a concept review meeting with my team. I walk them through what we wanted to do. I show them storyboards of how it would look. We show them samples of how this might be then rendered later, you know, saying, like, this is not it, but this is what it might look like.”
- 18:10 – Don’t Just Track Attendance, Measure Cognitive Activation
True engagement isn’t counting attendees, it’s understanding what they do once they’re there. Scene-level tracking, drop-off points, and time spent per interaction offer real insights into comprehension and interest. Couple that with qualitative follow-ups, what questions did people ask? Where did dialogue happen? Data like this doesn’t just prove ROI, it identifies educational gaps and guides future strategy.
“We saw how much time people spent. Did they spend the full time? What was nice is it looked like a very even spreading of time, so it meant that people really kind of immersed themselves in the experience and went along with the story and the journey.”
26:45 – Use a Storyboard Framework to Align, Build, and Launch Faster
Six months may sound like a long lead time for a congress initiative, but for immersive engagements, it’s tight. Success starts with clear scientific objectives, followed by collaborative storyboarding and early buy-in from internal stakeholders and reviewers. Avoid jumping straight to the technology. Instead, map what your learner should walk away with, then build interactions that reinforce that message. Start with the goal, align the team, and work backwards from impact.
“Work with your core team to storyboard out what you’re trying to communicate, and then get on board as soon as possible your review team. Talk to them about what you’re looking to do, see if there’s any trepidation, and find out what you need to provide them to alleviate that concern.”
YouTube Chapters
- [00:00] Intro
- [02:38] Revolutionizing Healthcare Education using Storytelling
- [05:16] The Importance of Patient-Centered Communication
- [07:53] Case Study: Using XR to Educate Clinicians about a Rare Genetic Condition
- [10:33] Enhancing Clinical Skills with Extended Reality Experience
- [18:52] The Need for Effective Collaboration in Medical Education
- [26:44] Benefits of Contextualized Learning
- [32:41] Final Thoughts