Medical Journal Club as a New Method of Education: Modifications for Improvement.

Background: The emerging goals of journal clubs are now considered to be teaching critical appraisal skills and how to use evidence based medicine in practice. Although journal clubs are well accredited, designing the right format to keep members stimulated and educated remains a great challenge.
Methods: We conducted journal club structure modifications in internal medicine residency program of a university affiliated hospital. Initially, group-based sessions identified feasible changes and baseline data concerning residents` knowledge of evidence based medicine (EBM) was collected using a questionnaire. Modifications were implemented and a second set of group discussions and data collection took place after 12 months.
Results: A total of 78 (86.7%) internal medicine residents participated. The most important identified changes were schedule adjustments and setting new goals regarding EBM, medical statistics and critical appraisal teaching. Group discussion showed increased satisfaction and questionnaire assessments showed significant improvement in residents' knowledge of EBM.
Conclusions: Redesigning journal clubs with emphasis on regularity and setting new horizons basically improves their effectiveness. Assigning entire sessions to augment participants` skills in new areas of knowledge is a unique way to fit journal clubs as a novel and innovative teaching practice.