The Journal Club 3.0: A qualitative, multisite study examining a new educational paradigm in the era of open educational resources

Abstract

Background: The journal club is a ubiquitous and time-honored tradition within medical education. However, in recent years, open educational resources (OERs) have become increasingly influential in how physicians interact with the medical literature across multiple specialties. The authors sought to explore how emergency medicine (EM) resident physicians reconcile different perspectives across OERs into their educational experience at the journal club. Methods: From January 2018 to September 2019, the authors enrolled 25 EM residents from four teaching sites associated with the University of British Columbia, Canada, to participate in either a focus group (seven residents) or individual interviews (18 residents). The authors used a snowball sampling technique. Using a constructivist grounded theory analysis, two investigators independently reviewed transcripts, meeting regularly to discuss themes until sufficiency was achieved. Results: The study data expand the theoretical understanding of the resident journal club experience. Residents used multiple sources including OERs to learn about new evidence in the specialty. The rise of OERs helped residents to focus on developing critical appraisal skills and social bonds during the journal club. The local journal club gained a new relevancy in acting as a quality control mechanism against the premature adoption of research findings discussed in OERs.Discussion: To date, most educators assume that residents prepare for a journal club by reading the selected articles and applying knowledge from their previous education. Instead, our findings suggest a more dynamic experience that integrates OERs.OERs enhance the journal club experience by allowing junior residents to more easily participate in discussions and to broaden the discussion to multiple clinical settings.Understanding these processes could inform future educational strategies around the journal club.

Weighing the gold standard: The breadth of emergency medicine core content covered by textbooks

“…An to enhance these skills. 14 Adopting rigorous metrics and frameworks for online resources-and potentially developing new ones for textbooks-can guide this critical analysis. 15 In EM, where knowledge and best practices are constantly evolving, these skills are essential.…”

“…Educators can support this by creating diverse reading lists that include both print and digital materials and teaching critical appraisal skills during residency. Innovations like journal clubs focused on open educational resources are emerging to enhance these skills 14 . Adopting rigorous metrics and frameworks for online resources—and potentially developing new ones for textbooks—can guide this critical analysis 15 .…”

Evidence-Based Medicine Course in Combination With Journal Clubs to Promote Evidence-Based Surgery

“…Providing a short checklist to interpret the validity, results, and applicability of each separate study design, as provided, for example, by the National Cochrane Center ( www.cochrane.nl/resources ), appeared to be helpful. More recently, open educational resources (OERs) have been proposed for residents to appreciate new evidence [ 21 ]. These medical educational facilities via the Internet may offer a more dynamic experience, allowing easier participation in discussions, even for junior residents, with a wider audience beyond the borders of their own hospital.…”

Guidelines: The Do’s, Don’ts and Don’t Knows of Creating Open Educational Resources

“…While many have written about the role that OER producers must play in encouraging active critical appraisal of the peer-reviewed literature [73][74][75], some literature reminds us that the critical appraisal of OERs themselves must also be incorporated into the readers' skills. This skill should be encouraged by educators, but also advocated by those who serve as OER creators, curators, or editors [4,8,72,76].…”