Osler Journal Club

The goal of Journal Club is to introduce Osler residents (and students on medical clerkships at JHH) to the principles of clinical epidemiology required to critically appraise published clinical research literature. Journal Club meets monthly at Noon (lunch provided) in the Cader Conference Room (Harvey 5).

Archive of Journal Club Articles and Presentations: 2006-2007
                                                                                             2007-2008
                                                                                             2008-2009                                                 

Residents Role
CASE 2 Residents (2 or 3 per month) select a recent article and clear it with assigned Journal Club mentor. They read the article and arrange a meeting with the mentor at least one week before Journal Club to discuss strengths and weaknesses, identify teaching points, and outline approach to presentation. They email a link to the article to all housestaff the day before Journal Club. Finally, they give a 10-15 minute PowerPoint presentation of the article to begin the Journal Club discussion.

Guidelines for Powerpoint Presentation
Must be limited to 15 minutes to allow plenty of time for teaching and discussion.

Background/Introduction/Context (1 or 2 slides)
It's always tempting to expand this section, but it can swallow the entire Journal Club.

Study Outline (1 slide)
This follows the structured abstract template favored by JAMA and Annals of Internal Medicine. Presenters should be able to summarize each heading in one or two lines so as to fit on a single slide. This is a good slide to review with your assigned mentor at the pre-Journal Club meeting. It should outline "Hypothesis/Goal;" "Study Design;" "Setting;" "Participants;" "Data Collection;" "Main Outcome;" "Analytic Method"

Additional Methods (1 or 2 slides)

Results (3-6 slides)
Typically, cut and paste tables and figures.Since you'll have already distributed hardcopies of the article, don't worry too much about reformatting tables for readability on the screen. Just point to the sections of interest and let the audience flip through their hardcopies to read the data directly.

Conclusions/ Implications (1 slide)
Strengths (1 slide)
Weaknesses (1 slide)
Discussion Points (1 slide)

Mentor's Role
Help residents identify appropriate article that fits pre-specified design of the month. Meet with residents 1-2 weeks before Journal Club to discuss paper and prepare.Lead a 30-40 min discussion of the paper and related topics in critical appraisal following the residents' presentation at Journal Club.

Resources
Quick Guide to Clinical Epidemiology and Critical Appraisal
JAMA Series on Step-by-Step Critical Appraisal

        
Schedule 2009-2010