Aims Teaching Bytes are specifically scripted, professionally developed video media aiming to improve concerning areas of practice for trainees and trainers as identified by national surveys. Methods Areas of training requiring improvement were identified via analysis of the GMC Trainee and Trainer Surveys results and trainee feedback from the Deanery and the Professional Support Unit. Identified areas included ‘handover’, ‘induction’, ‘feedback’, ‘supervised learning events’ and ‘preparing for educational supervision’. Generic relevant scenarios were scripted, incorporating Royal College guidance, acted-out by colleagues, filmed and edited by the hospital’s clinical videographer. Thereafter, Teaching Bytes are delivered in an hour-long structured, interactive teaching session format to trainees and trainers involving group work and discussions. The following link provides an example of a Teaching Bytes ‘handover’ video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8B4LEZzNC-waWprckFxVlY0RlU/view? usp=sharing

All teaching resources are made freely available via the Wales Deanery website for widespread national use. A competitively obtained grant from the Deanery’s ‘Trainees Transforming Training’ has facilitated dissemination.

Results Teaching Bytes were delivered through departmental teaching, Health Board and Deanery study days to 93 trainees and trainers. Qualitative and quantitative feedback was gained from participants: on a scale of 1–10 from worst to best possible, the sessions were rated 8.2 for content, 8.4 for teaching style and 8.3 for relevance. The videos received 8.7 for usefulness, while the perceived impact on practice measured 8.2. Comments included ‘very effective teaching tool’, ‘the video aspect makes it more memorable’, ‘stimulated lively discussion, very useful to generate ideas’, ‘better than talking through it’ and ‘motivation’.

Conclusion Teaching Bytes are relevant, well-received, innovative quality improvement and education tools driven by trainees and trainers with the potential to motivate widespread improvement in training and improve measurable national outcomes. The project is in it’s dissemination phase aided by a Deanery grant, which involves distribution to key educators and presentation at national conferences – Teaching Bytes will be used in a workshop at the RCPCH 2017 national conference by the Education Provision Team aimed at improving the identification of learning needs for trainees and trainers. Future developments include producing e-learning resources for incorporation with Royal Colleges.