How do you make the voiceless heard?
BPD partnered with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to build SHIFT, a nurse-led community and content platform that grew into a national movement for health equity.
THE IMPACT
240%+
Increase in social media followers with 11%+ engagement rate
62
Creative awards
15m+
Social media engagements
11%+
Engagement rate
THE CHALLENGE
The most trusted voices weren’t being heard.
Nurses see the inequities in healthcare more clearly than almost anyone else. On the front lines every day, they witness how systemic racism and sexism affect not only their own profession, but also the patients they serve.
Despite being America’s most trusted profession, nurses’ perspectives are too often overlooked by healthcare leadership and the systems they work within. Without a place to connect, share experiences, and amplify their collective voice, their insights rarely translate into broader change.
OUR APPROACH
An entirely new community for nurses, led by nurses.
Research revealed that nurses weren’t looking for another professional resource — they were looking for each other. That space didn’t exist. So we built it.
SHIFT: Being heard helped nurses see themselves in a new light.
SHIFT is a content-driven brand and digital platform spanning podcast, website and social channels that puts nurses’ voices at the center. Honest, funny and deeply relatable, it invites nurses to tell their stories and build connections rooted in shared experience.
What began as a community became the foundation for a movement.
By giving nurses a platform to hear one another — and recognize the collective power of their experiences — SHIFT helped them see themselves not only as caregivers, but as leaders capable of shaping the future of healthcare.
SHIFT didn’t create the conversation. It created the conditions for nurses to lead it.
SHIFT unites nurses across channels by being welcoming and entertaining. Visiting the platform does not feel like work; it feels like coming home — to content that is honest, funny and relatable.
Two documentary films took the conversation to a higher level.
A documentary film focused on a nurse from North Dakota and her fight for health equity provided a meaningful 360-degree, all-access view of this unique world. A second film explores the dynamics shaping racism in nursing and in healthcare overall.
Creative activations
Our work works.
“SHIFT ignited a spark in the movement to confront racism in healthcare. BPD didn’t simply build a social platform or release a film; they created a clear pathway for action.”
Beth Toner, Director, Program Communications, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
