- Email: [email protected]
Use of an Internet-based journal club
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Use of an Internet-based journal club RONALD B. KUPPERSMITH,MD, MICHAEL G. STEWART,MD, MPH, LAURIEA. OHLMS, MD, and NEWTONJ. COKER, MD, Houston, Texas
The on-line journal club is a useful example of the educational advantages created by the combination of current Internet technology with traditional journal club methods. (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1997;116:497-8.)
J o u r n a l clubs are frequently used by practicing physicians and residency programs as a forum for literature review. Integration and use of currently existing Internet applications into a journal club format have provided significant advantages over traditional methods at the Baylor College of Medicine's Bobby R. Alford Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Communicative Sciences. One common format used in traditional journal club settings involves the selection of specific articles of interest to the participating group. These articles may share a similar clinical theme or may represent a crosssection of important current literature. The references are distributed, and participants read the articles before meeting. Perhaps an expert in the chosen area of discussion is invited to provide insight from an experienced perspective. The chosen articles are usually summarized by one participant and then discussed by the group. The meetings are often informal and allow residents and faculty members to interact on a social level. Advantages of the traditional format are as follows: (1) participants are motivated to keep up with the current literature, (2) participants learn how to critically examine published literature, and (3) participants gain insight they may have missed by their own review. In addition, the informal environment may promote improved morale within a residency training program or may enhance networking opportunities within a From the Bobby R. Alford Departmentof Otorhinolaryngologyand Communicative Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine (http://www.bcm.tmc.edu/oto/). Reprint requests: Ronald B. Kuppersmith, MD, Bobby R. Alford Departmentof Otorhinolaryngologyand CommunicativeSciences, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, Texas, 77030; e-mail:[email protected]. Copyright © 1997 by the American Academy of OtolaryngologyHead and Neck SurgeryFoundation, Inc. 0194-5998/97/$5,00 + 0 23/1/75721
community group. The major disadvantage of a traditional journal club is that it requires all participants to be present in the same location at the same time. In a busy practice or in a residency program setting, demanding clinical responsibilities often preclude a high level of attendance at these meetings. Furthermore, low attendance may limit the number of articles that can be discussed and may limit the depth of discussion possible. Because of these disadvantages, our department has developed a new format for our journal club: the on-line journal club. This new format integrates existing Internet applications and provides several additional benefits over a traditional journal club. METHODS
To organize the on-line journal club, all participants had to set up electronic mail (e-mail) accounts. A mailing list was created with a modified version of the ListProcessor software (version 6.0c) running on a Sun Sparc Server 1000E. ListProcessor is a program that automates mailing lists. Software with similar capabilities is available on all platforms with mail server capabilities. A central address is created by the software, and a list of subscribers is provided to the software. Messages sent to the address are distributed to all of the subscribers by e-mail. Participants in the on-line journal club included four otolaryngology resident classes (PGY-3 to PGY-6) with four members each, two residents from the PGY-2 year, the otology/neurotology fellow, and the pediatric otolaryngology fellow. Each of the four classes was responsible for one otolaryngology journal (Annals
of Otology, RhinoIogy, and Laryngology; Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery; The Laryngoscope; and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery). Each class divided the journal's articles, and each person was responsible for preparing a review of 497
OtolaryngologyHead and Neck Surgery April 1997
498 KUPPERSMITHet al.
his or her assigned articles (approximately 1 to 5 articles per month). The fellows were responsible for the journals specific to their fellowship training area (e.g.,
American Journal of Otology, International Journal of Pediatric OtorhinoIaryngoIogy), and the PGY-2s chose articles of interest from other otolaryngology journals. Each participant sent his or her reviews by e-mail to the on-line journal club mailing list, which then distributed the reviews to all of the other residents and fellows in the department, thus providing an up-to-date and comprehensive review of the current literature. The best 4 to 10 articles were then chosen by the residents and discussed at an optional meeting one night a month. Several faculty members typically attended these evening meetings. In addition to the mailing list software, a program called Hypermail (version 1.02) generated a set of cross-referenced HTML (Hypertext Markup Language, the main language of the World Wide Web) documents corresponding to the reviews written by the residents. This effectively created a database to store all of the online journal club reviews. The messages could then be sorted by reviewer, title, date, and thread (line of discussion). The addition of a search engine allowed users to search the on-line journal club database for content and provided the ability to identify all reviews on a specific topic (e.g., all articles about otosclerosis). DISCUSSION
Whereas this new format retains the benefits of traditional journal clubs, there are several additional advantages. If participants miss the optional monthly meeting, they still receive all of the reviews by e-mail,
which can be retrieved at any time from any location with Internet access. In addition, a fully searchable database of the on-line journal club is maintained on a World Wide Web site providing a permanent and accessible database of literature reviews. Younger trainees can benefit from reviews that were written before their arrival, and graduating residents with Internet access can retrieve articles from the World Wide Web database at their new location. This provides a significant advantage over traditional journal clubs because many people can benefit without attending the actual meeting. With the use of this format, most of the current otolaryngology literature is reviewed rather than a limited number of articles. Each month, participants receive a concise but complete review of the current literature, which helps identify important articles that warrant closer inspection. The on-line journal club also encourages the use of computers and the Internet, both of which are rapidly becoming more important in everyday life. CONCLUSION
The on-line journal club is a useful example of the educational advantages created by the combination of current Internet technology with traditional methods. The on-line journal club retains the benefits of a traditional journal club, overcomes most disadvantages, and creates new opportunities by removing geographic and time restrictions. Although our journal club is currently limited to users at Baylor College of Medicine, similar journal clubs could easily be organized at any institution, and anyone with Internet access could participate.
Use of an Internet-based journal club RONALD B. KUPPERSMITH,MD, MICHAEL G. STEWART,MD, MPH, LAURIEA. OHLMS, MD, and NEWTONJ. COKER, MD, Houston, Texas
The on-line journal club is a useful example of the educational advantages created by the combination of current Internet technology with traditional journal club methods. (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1997;116:497-8.)
J o u r n a l clubs are frequently used by practicing physicians and residency programs as a forum for literature review. Integration and use of currently existing Internet applications into a journal club format have provided significant advantages over traditional methods at the Baylor College of Medicine's Bobby R. Alford Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Communicative Sciences. One common format used in traditional journal club settings involves the selection of specific articles of interest to the participating group. These articles may share a similar clinical theme or may represent a crosssection of important current literature. The references are distributed, and participants read the articles before meeting. Perhaps an expert in the chosen area of discussion is invited to provide insight from an experienced perspective. The chosen articles are usually summarized by one participant and then discussed by the group. The meetings are often informal and allow residents and faculty members to interact on a social level. Advantages of the traditional format are as follows: (1) participants are motivated to keep up with the current literature, (2) participants learn how to critically examine published literature, and (3) participants gain insight they may have missed by their own review. In addition, the informal environment may promote improved morale within a residency training program or may enhance networking opportunities within a From the Bobby R. Alford Departmentof Otorhinolaryngologyand Communicative Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine (http://www.bcm.tmc.edu/oto/). Reprint requests: Ronald B. Kuppersmith, MD, Bobby R. Alford Departmentof Otorhinolaryngologyand CommunicativeSciences, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, Texas, 77030; e-mail:[email protected]. Copyright © 1997 by the American Academy of OtolaryngologyHead and Neck SurgeryFoundation, Inc. 0194-5998/97/$5,00 + 0 23/1/75721
community group. The major disadvantage of a traditional journal club is that it requires all participants to be present in the same location at the same time. In a busy practice or in a residency program setting, demanding clinical responsibilities often preclude a high level of attendance at these meetings. Furthermore, low attendance may limit the number of articles that can be discussed and may limit the depth of discussion possible. Because of these disadvantages, our department has developed a new format for our journal club: the on-line journal club. This new format integrates existing Internet applications and provides several additional benefits over a traditional journal club. METHODS
To organize the on-line journal club, all participants had to set up electronic mail (e-mail) accounts. A mailing list was created with a modified version of the ListProcessor software (version 6.0c) running on a Sun Sparc Server 1000E. ListProcessor is a program that automates mailing lists. Software with similar capabilities is available on all platforms with mail server capabilities. A central address is created by the software, and a list of subscribers is provided to the software. Messages sent to the address are distributed to all of the subscribers by e-mail. Participants in the on-line journal club included four otolaryngology resident classes (PGY-3 to PGY-6) with four members each, two residents from the PGY-2 year, the otology/neurotology fellow, and the pediatric otolaryngology fellow. Each of the four classes was responsible for one otolaryngology journal (Annals
of Otology, RhinoIogy, and Laryngology; Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery; The Laryngoscope; and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery). Each class divided the journal's articles, and each person was responsible for preparing a review of 497
OtolaryngologyHead and Neck Surgery April 1997
498 KUPPERSMITHet al.
his or her assigned articles (approximately 1 to 5 articles per month). The fellows were responsible for the journals specific to their fellowship training area (e.g.,
American Journal of Otology, International Journal of Pediatric OtorhinoIaryngoIogy), and the PGY-2s chose articles of interest from other otolaryngology journals. Each participant sent his or her reviews by e-mail to the on-line journal club mailing list, which then distributed the reviews to all of the other residents and fellows in the department, thus providing an up-to-date and comprehensive review of the current literature. The best 4 to 10 articles were then chosen by the residents and discussed at an optional meeting one night a month. Several faculty members typically attended these evening meetings. In addition to the mailing list software, a program called Hypermail (version 1.02) generated a set of cross-referenced HTML (Hypertext Markup Language, the main language of the World Wide Web) documents corresponding to the reviews written by the residents. This effectively created a database to store all of the online journal club reviews. The messages could then be sorted by reviewer, title, date, and thread (line of discussion). The addition of a search engine allowed users to search the on-line journal club database for content and provided the ability to identify all reviews on a specific topic (e.g., all articles about otosclerosis). DISCUSSION
Whereas this new format retains the benefits of traditional journal clubs, there are several additional advantages. If participants miss the optional monthly meeting, they still receive all of the reviews by e-mail,
which can be retrieved at any time from any location with Internet access. In addition, a fully searchable database of the on-line journal club is maintained on a World Wide Web site providing a permanent and accessible database of literature reviews. Younger trainees can benefit from reviews that were written before their arrival, and graduating residents with Internet access can retrieve articles from the World Wide Web database at their new location. This provides a significant advantage over traditional journal clubs because many people can benefit without attending the actual meeting. With the use of this format, most of the current otolaryngology literature is reviewed rather than a limited number of articles. Each month, participants receive a concise but complete review of the current literature, which helps identify important articles that warrant closer inspection. The on-line journal club also encourages the use of computers and the Internet, both of which are rapidly becoming more important in everyday life. CONCLUSION
The on-line journal club is a useful example of the educational advantages created by the combination of current Internet technology with traditional methods. The on-line journal club retains the benefits of a traditional journal club, overcomes most disadvantages, and creates new opportunities by removing geographic and time restrictions. Although our journal club is currently limited to users at Baylor College of Medicine, similar journal clubs could easily be organized at any institution, and anyone with Internet access could participate.