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Journal Club Guidelines:

Why Do Journal Club?

Journal Clubs improve knowledge base and skill of residents.
- (JAMA. 1988 Nov 4;260(17):2537-41)
30% of "highly cited" (popular) articles are disproved within 3-5 years.
- (JAMA. 2005;294:218-228)
Most articles are "flawed" and do not stand the test of time.
As a result of the above, residents must develop reading and analytical skills.
When choosing an article to analyze for the Journal Club, avoid review articles or seminars.
Ideal articles are those which evaluate a new treatment, procedure or laboratory test, or those which characterize a new syndrome or illness.
Recent publications are generally more desirable than older publications.

How?

Begin by citing the source: Title, Author, Journal
State why you were attracted to or interested in this particular article.
In your own words state the key question posed by the article. For example:
- "Does treatment with flagyl reduce clostridium difficile recurrence?"
- "Does elevated CRP predict acute myocardial infarction?"
State the study type in a simple phrase:
- Randomized, controlled, blinded, double blinded, open label, multi-center, retrospective, cohort, descriptive, pilot study, etc.
Identify methods used in the study.
- Subject selection
- Randomization scheme
Give major finding/results.
State author's conclustions.
Give your assessment.
- Were author's conclusions valid?
- Were there weaknesses in the study that may have compromised results?
- How would you do the study differently?
- How will the results change your practice?

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