A company that provides specialist learning and training to the medical profession has taken up office space at leading medtech and biotech incubator, Cardiff Medicentre (MediWales, 2017).

Advanced Medical Simulation Online (AMSO) becomes the eighteenth tenant of Cardiff Medicentre, which is located in the grounds of the University Hospital of Wales. Dedicated to supporting early stage life sciences businesses, Cardiff Medicentre has a strong track record in helping companies like AMSO grow into successful operations that sell products and services globally.

AMSO was established in 2015 to address a shortfall in specific, high quality and affordable educational support for healthcare practitioners throughout the UK and beyond. Its founders, Professor Nazar Amso who is a consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and his wife Dr Jacqueline Scott, a senior medical practitioner in Cardiff, say that AMSO will help health professionals develop their knowledge and clinical skills in their workplace and achieve excellence in their provision of treatment and care.

Nazar Amso said “Having been a hospital consultant for more than 20 years, I’m very aware of the value that ongoing training and development can bring to our hospitals here in the UK and abroad. My wife and co-director has comparable knowledge in the context of GP practices and, together, we’re delivering practical educational support to a wide range of medical professionals.”

This support comes in the form of distance learning courses in subjects including ultrasound practice, women’s health, sexual and reproductive health and surgical practice, to enhance practitioners’ professional development in the workplace and aid their career progression. The company works closely with medical institutions, from NHS hospitals to specialist health service providers, to identify specific training needs and to deliver customised support for their staff.

There is particular focus on areas of medicine that require the development of practical skills such as ultrasound, surgical skills and communication skills, and the company has developed a unique cloud-based model that embeds simulation with distance learning using an interactive learning platform. On site simulation training is another option for learners who wish to gain practical skills before progressing to the clinical environment.

This step into the education and professional development market is a natural one for the company’s founders. Alongside his clinical practice in South Wales, Nazar Amso has three decades of educational expertise during which he has designed and delivered undergraduate and postgraduate courses. He founded and directed the Ultrasound Masters programme at Cardiff University’s School of Medicine between 2004 and 2016. And in 2004 he co-founded the ultrasound simulation education and training company, MedaPhor, as a spin-out company of Cardiff University. That company is now listed on AIM and sells its products worldwide.

Nazar Amso said “We intend AMSO to enjoy similar success because of the global need for high-level medical training that is easy to access and that makes sense from a budgetary perspective, especially in low income resource countries. We have just become a registered continuing professional development provider with a UK-based organisation that sets standards for the delivery of CPD globally, and this will allow us to build on the national and international training opportunities we’ve already identified.”

The company recently launched its first education product, a one to two year practical ultrasound course for doctors, nurses, midwives and sonographers. Nazar Amso and his team are currently developing a course in surgical practice that will focus on keyhole surgery, and there are others in the pipeline aimed at primary care clinicians and healthcare professionals.

Jacqueline Scott said “Working alongside us is an educationalist who supports the development of educational material, and a website developer with expertise in the construction of educational websites. In addition we have an expert medical and nursing faculty that supports the delivery of our programmes, two administrators, and plans to recruit further as the business grows. We are excited to be able to offer these distance learning courses which will be particularly relevant to places such as Africa, Asia and the Middle East where upskilling is crucial to improving the standards of care.”

Nazar Amso added “We know that Cardiff Medicentre is the right place for us to call our home, and it’s going to help us achieve the targets we have set for ourselves. It’s an invaluable hub for health and bioscience companies, and its location is ideal; we are a stone’s throw from our stakeholders at the University Hospital of Wales. The Medicentre staff have been exemplary in their support and we look forward to developing closer ties with the centre’s management and with their local, national and international contacts as time goes by.”

Justin John, Business Incubation Officer at Cardiff Medicentre, said “It is a pleasure to welcome the AMSO team to the Medicentre. There is a real buzz about the company and we are in no doubt that this is a business that is set to achieve great things.”