In 2022, we partnered with Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) to launch the UK's first academic–industry MSc in Clinical Embryology, a programme designed to bridge the gap between university education and clinical practice. Three years on, that model has proven itself: strong graduate outcomes, national conference presentations from our students, and a curriculum recently highly commended at periodic review.
It's a good moment to widen the conversation. Why do we invest in academic partnerships at all, and what does that mean for the profession as a whole?
Our newer partnership with Birmingham City University (BCU) applies the same thinking to a different, equally underserved specialism: reproductive ultrasound.
The gap the scanning module was built to close
Ultrasound sits at the centre of almost every stage of fertility treatment: screening, monitoring, and early pregnancy assessment. The pathway to becoming a confident, independently competent practitioner in this area has always been narrow. Generic sonography training doesn't cover the anatomical detail, technical precision, or patient sensitivity that reproductive and early pregnancy scanning demands.
The publication of the RCN Nurses Performing Ultrasound Scanning in Fertility Care guidance, recommending Level 7 education for nurses developing ultrasound scanning competencies, prompted the development of this partnership. The collaboration addresses a current gap in provision, as no UK private fertility provider currently offers a Level 7 module in this subject area.
Our Level 7 Module in Holistic Scanning in Female Assisted Reproduction, worth 20 credits, was built to close that gap. It's aimed at fertility nurses, midwives, and doctors. On completion, they're qualified to undertake fertility screening, monitoring, and early pregnancy scans independently.
How the course works
The module runs online and asynchronously. That matters in practice: nurses, midwives, and doctors already working full-time in clinical roles can build this qualification around their existing job, rather than stepping away from patient care.
The curriculum covers eight areas. It starts with the aetiology of fertility and reproductive anatomy and physiology, moves through male infertility and pharmacology in infertility, and builds to the clinical core: ultrasound in reproductive practice, ultrasound in early pregnancy, safety in ultrasound, and the use of ultrasound in investigating polycystic ovaries.
What sets this module apart is how we assess it. Written coursework isn't enough on its own. Candidates build a portfolio of real scans, overseen by a mentor and submit a reflective essay written to level 7 standard, both of which count toward their final grade. They also complete a recorded clinical assessment that checks scanning competence directly, rather than testing recall of theoretical knowledge.
External candidates need to be working somewhere with a genuine ultrasound caseload, offering both transvaginal and transabdominal scanning, busy enough to support at least one training scan list a week. Their mentor must be either a British Fertility Society (BFS) ultrasound trainer, level 7 qualified, or registered with the General Medical Council (GMC). Internal candidates train the same way, inside our own clinics.
That's a high bar, and it's meant to be. We want this qualification to certify that someone can scan independently and safely, not that they've memorised a textbook.
Built around recognised professional standards
The module aligns with the Royal College of Nursing's (RCN) fertility nurse framework, and with our own modernising career framework for nurses and midwives. That alignment isn't incidental. It means the learning maps onto standards the profession already recognises, giving the qualification currency beyond our own clinics.
The course is also intentionally outward-facing. Each cohort offers 10 places to our own staff, but we also open a limited number of places to external candidates from other clinical settings, at a cost of £900 per external place. It's a structure designed to strengthen skills across the assisted reproduction sector, not just within Care Fertility.
Two courses, one belief
The Clinical Embryology MSc with LJMU and the Holistic Scanning module with BCU sit in different clinical disciplines. They rest on the same belief: specialist fertility skills can't be built through academic study or clinical exposure alone. They need both, combined, with a university's rigour on one side and a working fertility provider's live clinical environment on the other. That's what closes the gap between knowing the theory and being trusted to scan or treat a real patient.
For me, this partnership is about raising standards and creating opportunities for fertility professionals. Following the publication of the RCN guidance, it became clear that there was a need for accessible, academically rigorous ultrasound education within the fertility sector. Working in partnership with Birmingham City University allows us to address that need, providing a route for practitioners to develop advanced ultrasound skills through a combination of academic learning and real-world clinical experience. Ultimately, it is about supporting the future development of the profession and ensuring the highest standards of patient care
Applications for the Holistic Scanning module are assessed on a cohort-by-cohort basis via Birmingham City University's application portal. Find out more, including current deadlines, on our training page.
Interested in exploring a training partnership with us?
Whether you're a university, professional body, or clinical setting looking to develop specialist fertility talent, we'd like to hear from you. Get in touch with our partnerships team to talk it through.
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