Effectiveness of Journal Club Activities Versus Clinical Debate Activities in Pharmacy Experiential Education

Abstract

Objective. Within pharmacy experiential education, practicing literature evaluation skills usually occurs via journal clubs. Clinical debates have gained traction as an engaging alternative during advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs). The purpose of this study was to compare clinical knowledge and literature evaluation application between journal clubs and clinical debates during APPEs. Methods. This mixed-methods prospective study was conducted in fourth year pharmacy students completing inpatient general medicine APPEs at four institutions. Students participated in a journal club and clinical debate during their experience. After each, students completed a 10-item knowledge assessment. Differences in journal club and clinical debate assessment scores were analyzed. Following completion of both activities, a perception survey was administered to gauge preferences and opinions. Differences in perception survey scores for journal clubs compared to clinical debates were evaluated quantitatively and a thematic analysis was completed for qualitative responses. Results. Fifty students participated in both activities. There were no differences between journal club and clinical debate assessment scores (57.4 ± 21.0% and 62.9 ± 20.7%, respectively). Forty students completed the post-perceptions survey and globally agreed or strongly agreed that both journal clubs and clinical debates improved confidence in literature evaluation and clinical skills. Common themes identified included applicability to pharmacists' roles and need for clear instructions and examples. Conclusion.There was no difference in knowledge assessments of journal clubs versus clinical debates and students found both activities to be beneficial. Clinical debates are a reasonable alternative to journal clubs to improve knowledge and literature evaluation skills.

Keeping Up With the Literature: New Solutions for an Old Problem

“…Preceptors can even consider other tactics, such as clinical debates, to meet the needs of the learners and introduce the opportunity to review new literature. 18 In addition, pharmacists who have formal teaching responsibilities, such as lecturing at a college of pharmacy, need to design and routinely update their materials. This includes evaluating new literature, such as guideline updates or clinical trial findings, to address in their presentations.…”

An Online, Multi-institutional Debate on Diabetes Medications by Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience Students

“…10 The use of debates during APPEs as an alternative to journal clubs during APPEs is not well studied. 16,17 Toor et al concluded debates could be employed to teach literature evaluation skills, but some participants reported they had not completed a journal club therefore a fair comparison was impossible. 16 Recently, Steuber and colleagues found no differences in knowledge scores among participants who participated in both debates and journal clubs.…”

“…16 Recently, Steuber and colleagues found no differences in knowledge scores among participants who participated in both debates and journal clubs. 17 Nonetheless, debates during experiential education can be considered as an alternative to journal clubs; however impediments may include higher faculty workload and time commitment, a lack of evaluation tools, and potential difficulty in judging student performances to provide meaningful feedback. 7 Debates in pharmacy education have traditionally been conducted with students debating fellow classmates within the same institution.…”