Journal Clubs: 2. Why and how to run them and how to publish them.

Abstract

Journal clubs have many functions, including the provision of a forum for developing skills in critical appraisal, an essential part of being a competent clinician. From early on, journal clubs reported their proceedings in academic journals. The Zoological Journal Club of Michigan , for example, regularly reported its activities in the journal Science (see figure 1). Table 1 lists a selection of other journals that publish journal club articles, showing the wide range of topics covered. Modern methods of conducting journal clubs include the use of online media to encourage interactive discussion,1 including blogs,2 twitter,3 and virtual journal clubs.4 Figure 1 The contents page of Science for Friday 7 December 1900, listing the proceedings of the Zoological Journal Club of the University of Michigan . View this table: Table 1 Some journals that publish articles under the heading ‘Journal Club’ It is therefore appropriate that Evidence-Based Medicine  (EBM) should feature a regular journal club report. In order to find out how others run journal clubs and the effects that they …