Belfast company, StreamOn.net, launches video based e-learning site for healthcare professionals in partnership with leading UK professional bodies

An innovative video based website that can help doctors, dentists and pharmacists polish up on their professional skills whenever and wherever they want has been launched by Northern Ireland based company, StreamOn. www.edcastmedical.com provides expert training from leading medical professional bodies: the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London; the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency; the Northern Ireland Centre for Postgraduate Pharmaceutical Education and Training and iPath, a QUB spinout company from the School of Pathology. Courses in general practice, dentistry, pharmacy, obstetrics and gynaecology and pathology are available direct to the user’s PC from £20, representing a significant time and cost saving on attendance at lectures & seminars.

Speaking at a special launch reception held in Parliament Buildings, Stormont, Northern Ireland Economy Minister, Nigel Dodds said: “Edcast Medical is a great example of how local creative digital talent can be applied to break new ground in global e-learning platforms. I hope it encourages other businesses here to see the commercial potential of the internet and paves the way for further innovation in this area.”

Other e-learning websites exist but none can match Edcast Medical for the range and quality of professionally developed courses explained Mark McCann of StreamOn. “Each addresses a training issue in depth, using a range of learning tools including video lectures with PowerPoint, video based patient/practitioner scenarios, equipment and procedure video demonstrations, knowledge testing, supporting downloadable documentation, and discussion forums. Medical professionals are required to undertake high level continuing professional development as a mandatory requirement of their membership to professional bodies. Edcast Medical is the first provider to offer the ability for professional bodies to broker their knowledge online in such a video rich format. It eliminates the dependence on traditional training events which is a particular advantage for bodies with dispersed memberships. The need for time-consuming travel is minimised, as is cost for the trainee and their employer. Thanks to the benefits of broadband technology” continued Mark, “there is the added convenience to the professional of being able to update their knowledge and skills whenever and wherever they want.”

Also speaking at the launch, Professor James Dornan, Immediate Past Senior President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said: “ EdCast Medical has provided a new, dynamic and interactive way of providing learning opportunities for our dispersed membership, allowing us to reach them directly and eradicating the time and expense needed to travel to our training facility in London.”

Discussions are also already underway between StreamOn and other professional bodies and colleges in the UK and further afield to offer further specialist training courses online.

Edcast Medical is 1 of 6 government-backed broadband content initiatives showcasing Northern Ireland’s digital creative talent to the world under the www.crea8ivity.com banner and has received financial backing under the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Investment’s Broadband Content Initiative.