Effectiveness of extracurricular journal clubs on pharmacy students' learning of evidence-based medicine and critical appraisal

Background: In hospital pharmacy practice, journal club (JC) often serves as a means of knowledge exchange among clinicians for the application of evidence to patient care. Objective: We simulated JC in school with the objective of studying the effectiveness of voluntary student-driven JC in the learning of evidence-based medicine (EBM) and critical appraisal (CA) in undergraduate pharmacy students. Methods: Eight one-hour JC sessions were organized by students in two consecutive academic terms as extracurricular activities. Attendance and presentations by students were voluntary. Students who attended JC were asked to complete an online questionnaire to self-report their learning and understanding of EBM and CA concepts. JC presenters were invited to focus groups to share their feedback and learning on EBM and CA skills. Results: Attendance of each JC ranged from 25 to 50 students. 28 students completed the online questionnaire. After attending JC, 57% students agreed or strongly agreed that they were able to critically appraise primary literature in a timely fashion; 68% believed that they were able to formulate clinically-relevant conclusions from research studies; and 57% were confident in presenting clinical decisions based on assessment of a research study. We conducted three focus groups with 22 student presenters and a thematic analysis was performed on the transcribed data. Student presenters found themselves more proactive in seeking evidence-based clinical decisions. They strived for continuous development of their CA skills and recognized the importance of critically analyzing methods and results presented in clinical trials. Conclusion: Traditional didactic teaching/learning in classroom serves as an introduction to EBM and CA. JC offered pharmacy students a platform to further practice and apply their knowledge on EBM and CA skills. Students need to continuously practice these skills in order to be prepared as a medication therapy expert capable of evaluating and applying EBM in practice.