📚 Journal Club

A platform for staying up-to-date with the latest surgical research.

If you are interested in Research, please see Ms. Shin Yii (President) or Ms. Grace Tang ( Research Director).

Evidence-based practice requires an up-to-date knowledge and a healthy understanding of the methods of critical appraisal to traverse the substantial amount of research being published every day. Doctors, more often than not, begin clinical life without an adequate training in these skills. Journal clubs aim to empower future graduates by addressing this gap.

Upcoming Sessions

No upcoming events.

More information on sign ups for presenters and participants can be found below.

journal club session archive

Guides

What is a journal club?

A journal club is a meeting in which a group of individuals discuss published articles, facilitating a forum in a collaborative effort to keep up with current areas of interest in surgical research. Up to two members of the club present a brief overview of a previously assigned paper that the whole group has read, after which the discussion begins. Participants then ask questions and inquire about various facets of the experimental design, critically appraise the methods, and draw on a healthy amount of skepticism (or praise) to the results of the literature being reviewed.

The members can base their views on certain aspects of the study, including:

  1. Its design and appropriateness
  2. The use of controls
  3. Relevance of the results in clinical practice

The benefits

  • Facilitates better knowledge and literature awareness.

  • Stimulates an interest in research.

  • Improves critical appraisal skills.

  • Helps in informed clinical practice.

  • Improves interview skills and stimulates academic debate among peers.

  • Provides an opportunity to expand your professional network with like-minded peers and doctors.

  • Added bonus: it is a selling point on surgical CVs.

When and how?

Traditionally, participants of journal clubs meet to discuss current research in a topic relevant to the field.An article will be chosen from a reputed high impact journal and sent to the participants’ emails in advance. One student will be chosen on a volunteer basis and present the article to others. While presenting the paper in a journal club, one must be concise, and is simply expected to summarise the research question, the methods, the results, and the conclusions. In a journal club, the presenter’s interpretation is more important than rehashing the contents of the article.

All this teaches a post-graduate how to do high-quality research, how to critically analyse research data, how to understand the finer points of surgical technique and how to avoid research and clinical pitfalls.

Flow of the session

What does a presenter do?

  • You will form a group of 2 people to present and appraise the selected article
  • Use relevant search strategies to find an article related to surgical interventions from a high impact factor journal relevant to the theme
    • The article will need to be validated by the SIGMUM team before a critical appraisal can be conducted.
  • Prepare two sets of slides together as a group
    • One set of slides on the details, idea and overview of the article
    • One set of slides on the group’s critical appraisal
  • Both representatives will present the slides during the actual event
    • One person will have to present the details, idea and overview of the article without going into details of the critical appraisal
    • The other person will have to present the group’s prepared critical appraisal
  • More specific details will be given 1 month prior to the event after the article selection is confirmed.
  • How will you be contacted?
    • We will contact you via email on the approximate month which you are slotted to present
    • A WhatsApp group will be created to ease communication
    • Further details (eg: how to prep & case-by-case issues) will be briefed 1 month prior to the scheduled session
    • E-certs for presenters will be provided at the end of year.
SIGN UP AS A PRESENTER

What does a participant do?

  • Read up on the selected article
  • Prepare questions and contribute during the Journal Club discussion.
  • How will we contact you?
    • We will contact you via email to share the selected article for you to read and understand.
  • E-certs will only be provided at the end of the year if your attendance is sufficient. 
  • Note: if you are interested, you can sign up as a presenter in the future via the presenter sign up form.
SIGN UP AS A participant

Credits: SIGMUM Research Team (2021/2022; 2022/2023)

References

  1. Bhattacharya S. Journal club and post-graduate medical education. Indian J Plast Surg [Internet]. 2017 [cited 2021 Aug 20];50(3):302-305. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5868110/ doi: 10.4103/ijps.IJPS_222_17
  2. Linzer M. The journal club and medical education: over one hundred years of unrecorded history. Postgrad Med J [Internet]. 1987 [cited 2021 Aug 20];63(740):475-478. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2428317/ doi: 10.1136/pgmj.63.740.475
  3. Biswas T. Role of journal clubs in undergraduate medical education. Indian J Community Med [Internet]. 2011 [cited 2021 Aug 20];36(4):309-310. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3263155/ doi: 10.4103/0970-0218.91422
  4. Bowles P, Marenah K, Ricketts D, Rogers B. How to prepare for and present at a journal club. Br J Hosp Med (Lond) [Internet]. 2013 Oct [cited 2021 Aug 20];74(10):C150-2. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258857561_How_to_prepare_for_and_present_at_a_journal_club doi: 10.12968/hmed.2013.74.Sup10.C150