Effectiveness of structured review instrument in journal club meeting during orthopaedic residency: A prospective...

Journal Club (JC) meetings are a traditional and effective method of teaching evidence-based medicine in many orthopaedic residency programs. The key objectives are to develop critical appraisal skills, facilitate the application of evidence in clinical practice, and foster a lifelong habit of staying updated with current literature. A structured checklist may help ensure these objectives are met consistently. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using a Structured Review Instrument (SRI) during JC meetings.

We conducted a prospective interventional study from June 2023 to June 2024 at a 1000-bedded tertiary care medical college hospital. Junior orthopaedic residents who attended the monthly JC meetings were included. Outcomes were assessed using a resident feedback questionnaire scored on a Likert scale, and the results were compared using an unpaired t-test.

Residents using the SRI demonstrated significantly higher mean Likert scores in several domains: the ability to draw conclusions from the article (3.7 ± 0.27, p = 0.0002), identify various components of the article (3.8 ± 0.29, p = 0.0013), apply take-home messages to clinical practice (3.7 ± 0.21, p = 0.0151), and understand research methodology (3.5 ± 0.28, p = 0.0094). In terms of personal qualities, the SRI group showed significantly higher satisfaction with JC meetings (4.1 ± 0.31, p = 0.001), enthusiasm (3.9 ± 0.34, p = 0.0019), and peer discussion (3.8 ± 0.24, p = 0.0017). The overall mean score across all questionnaire domains was also significantly higher in the SRI group (3.68 ± 0.22, p = 0.0009).

A successful JC meeting should provide educational value to all participants while being efficient for faculty. This study demonstrates that incorporating a Structured Review Instrument enhances the quality, engagement, and effectiveness of Journal Club sessions.