The Value of Journal Clubs in Orthopaedic Resident Education

1 Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA The journal club is considered a standard of medical education across many institutions and fields of medicine. Our hypothesis is that the systematic evaluation and/or critical discussion of articles in journal club can change resident perception of the articles and topics examined. We performed a pilot study in which residents read and evaluated seven orthopaedic journal articles using a Structured Review Instrument (SRI) prior to journal club sessions for critical analysis of an article’s content. A five question systematic evaluation form was then completed by each resident before and after journal club using a Likert Scale to rate quality, understanding, and importance of an article. The articles’ influence on resident thinking and practice were rated with “yes” or “no” responses. The resident responses were compiled across all residents and all articles into “respondent cases” for statistical analysis of scores. In regards to an article’s quality, 18 respondent cases decreased scores after journal club, 5 cases increased their ratings, and 26 remained the same (p-value = 0.004). In regards to residents’ understanding of the article, 11 cases decreased scores, 5 cases increased, and 33 stayed the same (p-value = 0.087). It is concluded that the systematic evaluation and/or discussion of articles during journal club impacts orthopaedic residents’ impressions of articles analyzed. We propose that larger future prospective studies be performed comparing residents who use an SRI to those who do not. Statistical analysis of systematic evaluation scores from both groups could then be compared to discern whether the influence of an SRI or journal club discussion alone affords orthopaedic residents the best critical understanding of journal articles.