Proliferations of scientific medical journals: a burden or a blessing.

Scientific Medical Journal publication is rapidly increasing in volume. It has become the most explosive field of journal publications worldwide. Medical practitioners require proven strategies to benefit from these immense publications to keep up with current literatures. The task of teaching physicians to review medical literature critically has assumed increasing importance. The objective of this write up is to offer suggestions to help physicians improve their use of Scientific Medical Journals in their practice so as to be able to sieve out worthless journal articles. Majority of the articles agreed that a quick review of the title, the introduction and the abstract of an article will guide a physician as to whether to continue to read or discard an article. A strategy is required in reading an article so as to benefit maximally from it. In general, a quick scanning of the title, abstract, introduction, and conclusion sequentially usually will enable the reader to identify whether articles with interesting titles are truly of interest. If so, more time can be spent on methodology, results and discussion sections. As you read, always bear in mind the possibility of applying the study in your practice. The use of Medical Journals as a form of medical education and sharing of information consistently ranks above the use of other sources of literature such as Newsletters, Textbooks, and Monographs. It serves as a means of continuing medical education better than other methods such as personal contact with colleagues, making clinical rounds, and continuing education courses.1-6 However, most programs do not prepare doctors for critical review of literature. A medical doctor should be familiar with analysis skills of medical literature so as to profit maximally in the use of this method of instruction. Reading medical journal is a standard method of increasing knowledge among the physicians worldwide. It enables medical practitioners to put to practice evidence base medicine. Any doctor who is not skilled in journal analysis is not likely to be skilful in medical practice.4,7 Publications of Scientific Medical Journals started in the early doi:10.5001/omj.2010.89