The BMJ Group has bought OnExamination.com, a specialist website dealing with online exam preparation for doctors, medical students and other healthcare professionals.
The website will be integrated into BMJ Learning which provides online learning modules and masterclasses for 95,000 registered users.
BMJ claims it is the UK market leader in clinical events for general practice with more than 12,000 delegates forecast to attend its shows in 2008.
OnExamination.com was formed by two doctors, Stephen Davis and Dean Jenkins, from Cardiff University who saw the potential of the internet to help medics prepare for examinations.
Since its launch in 2000, the site has expanded to cover the principal post-graduate exams run by the UK royal colleges of medicine, surgery and primary care.
It has recently expanded with exam preparation for medical students and nurses and is about to launch a resource for school leavers aiming for a career in medicine.
Dr Jenkins said: “From an idea formed during the dot com boom, OnExamination.com has matured into a business which has grown consistently in the last five years and enabled us to help over 80,000 doctors pass their exams.
“Within the BMJ Group we will develop further our collection of clinically-rich case problems and knowledge tests”.
The acquisition forms part of the BMJ Group’s strategy to widen its portfolio of products and services in the major growth area of medical education
Stella Dutton, CEO of the BMJ Group said: “Integrating OnExamination.com with BMJ Learning is a significant strategic move as doctors face increasing levels of assessment that lead to professional revalidation.
“Combining our joint strengths will also enable the Group to expand the educational services we offer in hospital medicine and primary care as well as to nursing and other healthcare staff.
“This new development continues the Group’s mission to improve the quality of medical information available to healthcare professionals leading to better outcomes for patients”.
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