Our large regional postgraduate school of Paediatrics (>1000 trainees) delivers a two year programme of study days which aim to address areas of the curriculum which had been identified as difficult to access in the workplace.

The training days are focussed on trainees who are currently 4-5 years into an 8 year training programme and are delivered centrally, with trainees attending from 35 different base hospitals or community placements.

We evaluated the impact of these innovative days on the learning environment of the regional school of paediatrics via a series of focus groups.

Participants in the focus groups were either attendees at the training days, or regional training representatives.

Focus group transcripts were independently analysed using a modified thematic analysis and themes were identified and further refined using the framework analytic approach ^1,2.

The emerging themes fell into the following categories:

 Regional teaching days

• Promote networking and sense of collegiality
• Strengthen the community of practice
• Provide inspiration for career development
• Increase standards of training by increasing awareness of other learning environments
• Increase quality of patient care by highlighting innovation and good practice
• Empower trainees to deliver change

Regional training days influence the learning climate of a postgraduate school in a variety of ways well beyond curriculum delivery. Particular attention to optimising the learning climate must be paid when planning curriculum delivery programmes and regional teaching must be protected in order that the described benefits are maintained.

The Authors would like to thank the teams at the Royal Society of Medicine and the London School of Paediatrics, and of course the many talented and inspirational clinicians who have given up their time to teach on our programme.

Regional teaching positively influences the learning climate beyond curriculum delivery in a variety of important ways.

1. Bryman B. Analyzing Qualitative Data. New York: Routledge; 2001.

5. Cohen L, Manion L, Morrison K. Research Methods in Education. 6th ed. Routledge; 2007.