Hematology Journal Club takes place on select Monday mornings, according to a pre-determined schedule. During the course of the 6-month hematology rotation approximately 8 1-hour journal clubs are conducted. Oncology Journal Club is directed by Dr. Margarita Kushnir and meets on a monthly basis under the supervision of rotating faculty.
Educational Purpose of the Journal Clubs
- To educate fellows in the skills of Medline search/retrieval for paper selection and critical skills for analysis of both basic and clinical research reports in Hematology/ oncology literature.
- To reinforce their learning by having fellows read the primary literature, organize their reading, and plan and present a conference to their peers and faculty discussant.
- To review the concepts of evidence-based medicine as outlined in several series of publications from the Clinical Epidemiology Section of McMaster University, in order to help fellows become life-long learners.
Principal Teaching Method
For the hematology journal club, papers for analysis and discussion
(concentrating on the recent papers published by the major hematology, medical,
or scientific journals) are suggested by any of the fellows or by the preceptor
and are chosen by the entire group. One, several, or all of the fellows
presents each paper. The session is precepted by faculty attendings. Discussions
consider the paper’s hypothesis, methods, results, conclusions, validity and
applicability. Background literature and subsequent reports, editorials, and
correspondence may be considered. Papers on diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and
metaanalysis are analyzed using the JAMA Users Guide for Evidenced-Based
Medicine. Scientific papers are analyzed using a template applying scientific
principles and critical principles espoused in the JAMA users guide for
original critical reading.
Most Important Educational Content
This conference is designed in order to help fellows to learn how to read, more critically, the medical literature and to integrate that knowledge in the general education that they are receiving in Hematology/Oncology. These conferences are also a mechanism for reinforcing their learning by forcing them to teach their peers.
Site’s Resources
The Montefiore Medical Library has full search and retrieval capabilities through Ovid and the combined libraries of Montefiore and Einstein contain over 2, 400 current journals with a total of about 180,000 volumes. The Hematology division at Montefiore has a conference room in the Hematology Offices Suite and any A-V aids necessary for this conference.