Date Presented 4/1/2017
This mixed-methods study explores students’ perception of guided journal clubs, including their overall satisfaction, knowledge base, and presentation skills, to improve competence in using evidence-based practice. These are necessary skills for clinicians to deliver best care.
Primary Author and Speaker: Kimberly Szucs
Additional Authors and Speakers: Brianne Haneman
PURPOSE: Journal clubs are used in the classroom and clinic to promote discussion of contemporary intervention methods. Academic journal clubs enable occupational therapy (OT) students to learn skills in evidence-based practice (EBP) and discuss current literature. The goal of an academic journal club is to teach EBP skills that carry over into the clinic to provide the best outcomes for clients (Linzer, 1987). A guided journal club involves group discussion of a current article using specific questions as provided by the Journal Club Toolkit (Janes & Metzger, 2011).
Currently, there is a lack of research examining both the effectiveness and perceptions of student participants in guided academic journal clubs. Furthermore, with the shift toward a more science-driven and evidence-based profession (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2007), OT practitioners must use research in practice. The purpose of this study is to determine, Does a guided journal club improve EBP skills? How do graduate OT students perceive the impact of a guided journal club on learning outcomes? This study explores students’ perceptions of satisfaction, knowledge and skills gained, and confidence in presentation skills, critical appraisal, and contribution to discussions, as well as quantitative assessment of EBP skills.
DESIGN: The study used a pre–post, mixed-methods design. The participants, 30 graduate OT students, completed this study during an 8-wk course on EBP. The course was divided into three modules, beginning with an introduction to concepts and skills of EBP. The second module involved using these skills in reading and critically analyzing articles. In Module 3, students were divided into groups who led and participated in guided journal clubs. As research shows that journal clubs are best implemented within other clinical or academic activities, this teaching approach was chosen to engage the students in learning EBP (Harris et al., 2011).
METHOD: Since this journal club was a learning activity, it was structured based on assignment guidelines to guide students through the EBP process. The journal club session began with an overview of the research study (15–20 min) followed by small group discussions (20 min), which were facilitated by the session leaders. The class then reconvened for a full class discussion (10 min). Likert-style surveys to assess student perception of the journal club on their learning were completed at the start of the semester and prior to and after the completion of Module 3. In addition, the students took quizzes and reading comprehension assignments.
RESULTS: There was no significant improvement on quiz scores following the journal club. On the surveys, students reported a large increase in their comfort with leading a group discussion on an article (percent increase 33.2%). Other areas of improvement included the following: I feel comfortable contributing to group discussion about articles (16.1%); I feel comfortable in reading scholarly articles (15.9%); and I understand research articles thoroughly (15.3%). There were also improvements in students’ comfort with specific areas of the EBP process. Students felt more comfortable in interpreting study results following this assignment (20.1%) and in their critical appraisal skills (18.1%).
CONCLUSION: Although results showed no quantitative difference in EBP skills, students’ perceptions of their skills improved in the areas of research understanding and leadership skills. Participation in a guided, academic journal club empowered OT students to feel confident in using research, which equips them to use research in clinical practice and provide the best practice for clients. As we move forward with our Centennial Vision as a science-driven and evidence-based profession, we need to teach skills that enable future clinicians to use current evidence within our profession (AOTA, 2007).
References
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2007). AOTA’s Centennial Vision and executive summary. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61, 613–614. http://dx.doi.org/10.5014/ajot.61.6.613
Harris, J., Kearley, K., Heneghan, C., Meats, E., Roberts, N., Perera, R., & Kearley-Shiers, K. (2011). Are journal clubs effective in supporting evidence-based decision making? A systematic review (BEME Guide No. 16). Medical Teacher, 33, 9–23. https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2011.530321
Janes, W. E., & Metzger, L. (2011). Introducing . . . the Journal Club Toolkit. OT Practice, 16(22), 9, 20.
Linzer, M. (1987). The journal club and medical education: Over one hundred years of unrecorded history. Postgraduate Medical Journal, 63, 475–478. https://doi.org/10.1136/pgmj.63.740.475
