Project description:Journal clubs are a valuable tool to assist pharmacists in the evaluation of biomedical literature and to promote adoption of evidence-based practices. The concise ROOTs (relevance, observe validity, obtain clinically significant results, and translate results to clinical practice) method was developed to help simplify and provide structure to any journal club process. Although there are a variety of recommended practices on how to conduct journal clubs using a variety of questions and checklists, many are cumbersome and difficult to complete and present in less than 30 minutes. The concise ROOTs journal club format may be beneficial for clinicians to help them develop an efficient and consistent means to appraise evidence in clinical practice. A sample completed ROOTs template, utilizing the 2015 IMPROVE-IT trial, is provided to further assist in utilizing the template.
Project description:BackgroundStudies of social media in both medicine and dentistry have largely focused on the value of social media for marketing to and communicating with patients and for clinical education. There is limited evidence of how dental clinicians contribute to and use social media to disseminate and access information relevant to clinical care.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to inventory and assess the entry, growth, sources, and content of clinically relevant social media in dentistry.MethodsWe developed an inventory of blogs, podcasts, videos, and associated social media disseminating clinical information to dentists. We assessed hosts' media activity in terms of their combinations of modalities, entry and exit dates, frequency of posting, types of content posted, and size of audience.ResultsOur study showed that clinically relevant information is posted by dentists and hygienists on social media. Clinically relevant information was provided in 89 blogs and podcasts, and topic analysis showed motives for blogging by host type: 55% (49 hosts) were practicing dentists or hygienists, followed by consultants (27 hosts, 30%), media including publishers and discussion board hosts (8 hosts, 9%), and professional organizations and corporations.ConclusionsWe demonstrated the participation of and potential for practicing dentists and hygienists to use social media to share clinical and other information with practicing colleagues. There is a clear audience for these social media sites, suggesting a changing mode of information diffusion in dentistry. This study was a first effort to fill the gap in understanding the nature and potential role of social media in clinical dentistry.
Project description:Educators struggle to develop a journal club format that promotes active participation from all levels of trainees. The explosion of social media compels residencies to incorporate the evaluation and application of these resources into evidence-based practice. We sought to design an innovative "flipped journal club" to achieve greater effectiveness in meeting goals and objectives among residents and faculty.Each journal club is focused on a specific clinical question based on a landmark article, a background article, and a podcast or blog post. With the "flipped" model, residents are assigned to prepare an in-depth discussion of one of these works based on their level of training. At journal club, trainees break into small groups and discuss their assigned readings with faculty facilitation. Following the small-group discussions, all participants convene to summarize key points. In redesigning our journal club, we sought to achieve specific educational outcomes, and improve participant engagement and overall impressions.Sixty-one residents at our emergency medicine program participated in the flipped journal club during the 2015-2016 academic year, with supervision by core faculty. Program evaluation for the flipped journal club was performed using an anonymous survey, with response rates of 70% and 56% for residents and faculty, respectively. Overall, 95% of resident respondents and 100% of faculty respondents preferred the flipped format.The "flipped journal club" hinges upon well-selected articles, incorporation of social media, and small-group discussions. This format engages all residents, holds learners accountable, and encourages greater participation among residents and faculty.
Project description:BackgroundHistorically, trainees in undergraduate and graduate health professions education have relied on secondary resources, such as textbooks and lectures, for core learning activities. Recently, blogs and podcasts have entered into mainstream usage, especially for residents and educators. These low-cost, widely available resources have many characteristics of disruptive innovations and, if they continue to improve in quality, have the potential to reinvigorate health professions education. One potential limitation of further growth in the use of these resources is the lack of information on their quality and effectiveness.ObjectiveTo identify quality indicators for secondary resources that are described in the literature, which might be applicable to blogs and podcasts.MethodsUsing a blended research methodology, we performed a systematic literature review using Google Scholar, MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and ERIC to identify quality indicators for secondary resources. A qualitative analysis of these indicators resulted in the organization of this information into themes and subthemes. Expert focus groups were convened to triangulate these findings and ensure that no relevant quality indicators were missed.ResultsThe literature search identified 4530 abstracts, and quality indicators were extracted from 157 articles. The qualitative analysis produced 3 themes (credibility, content, and design), 13 subthemes, and 151 quality indicators.ConclusionsThe list of quality indicators resulting from our analysis can be used by stakeholders, including learners, educators, academic leaders, and blog/podcast producers. Further studies are being conducted, which will refine the list into a form that is more structured and stratified for use by these stakeholders.
Project description:BackgroundWe have witnessed a rapid increase in the use of Web-based 'collaborationware' in recent years. These Web 2.0 applications, particularly wikis, blogs and podcasts, have been increasingly adopted by many online health-related professional and educational services. Because of their ease of use and rapidity of deployment, they offer the opportunity for powerful information sharing and ease of collaboration. Wikis are Web sites that can be edited by anyone who has access to them. The word 'blog' is a contraction of 'Web Log' - an online Web journal that can offer a resource rich multimedia environment. Podcasts are repositories of audio and video materials that can be "pushed" to subscribers, even without user intervention. These audio and video files can be downloaded to portable media players that can be taken anywhere, providing the potential for "anytime, anywhere" learning experiences (mobile learning).DiscussionWikis, blogs and podcasts are all relatively easy to use, which partly accounts for their proliferation. The fact that there are many free and Open Source versions of these tools may also be responsible for their explosive growth. Thus it would be relatively easy to implement any or all within a Health Professions' Educational Environment. Paradoxically, some of their disadvantages also relate to their openness and ease of use. With virtually anybody able to alter, edit or otherwise contribute to the collaborative Web pages, it can be problematic to gauge the reliability and accuracy of such resources. While arguably, the very process of collaboration leads to a Darwinian type 'survival of the fittest' content within a Web page, the veracity of these resources can be assured through careful monitoring, moderation, and operation of the collaborationware in a closed and secure digital environment. Empirical research is still needed to build our pedagogic evidence base about the different aspects of these tools in the context of medical/health education.Summary and conclusionIf effectively deployed, wikis, blogs and podcasts could offer a way to enhance students', clinicians' and patients' learning experiences, and deepen levels of learners' engagement and collaboration within digital learning environments. Therefore, research should be conducted to determine the best ways to integrate these tools into existing e-Learning programmes for students, health professionals and patients, taking into account the different, but also overlapping, needs of these three audience classes and the opportunities of virtual collaboration between them. Of particular importance is research into novel integrative applications, to serve as the "glue" to bind the different forms of Web-based collaborationware synergistically in order to provide a coherent wholesome learning experience.
Project description:The online environment brings both challenges and opportunities. The skills learned in journal clubs remain highly relevant where the ability to critique rapidly generated information and apply evidence to patient care is vital. Creativity and flexibility are needed to ensure that learners' needs are met and efforts are made to involve those who may not be naturally drawn to online environments. This article explores how journal clubs have been approached in the past, both in person and more recently online, considers techniques for maintaining engagement in online teaching and proposes new approaches for future journal clubs.
Project description:OBJECTIVES:To assess whether a journal club model could improve comprehension and written and spoken medical English in a population of Chinese medical professionals. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS:The study population consisted of 52 medical professionals who were residents or postgraduate master or PhD students in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, China. INTERVENTION:After a three-part baseline examination to assess medical English comprehension, participants were randomised to either (1) an intensive journal club treatment arm or (2) a self-study group. At the conclusion of the 8-week intervention participants (n=52) were re-tested with new questions. OUTCOME MEASURES:The primary outcome was the change in score on a multiple choice examination. Secondary outcomes included change in scores on written and oral examinations which were modelled on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). RESULTS:Both groups had improved scores on the multiple choice examination without a statistically significant difference between them (90% power). However, there was a statistically significant difference between the groups in mean improvement in scores for both written (95% CI 1.1 to 5.0; p=0.003) and spoken English (95% CI 0.06 to 3.7; p=0.04) favouring the journal club intervention. CONCLUSIONS:Interacting with colleagues and an English-speaking facilitator in a journal club improved both written and spoken medical English in Chinese medical professionals. Journal clubs may be suitable for use as a self-sustainable teaching model to improve fluency in medical English in foreign medical professionals. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER:NCT01844609.