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Using a Journal Club Series to Introduce Paramedic Students to Research Fundamentals and Critical Appraisal of Medical Literature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2019

Lauren M. Maloney ,
Robert Trevor Marshall ,
Paul A. Werfel  and
Scott E. Johnson
Lauren M. Maloney*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New YorkUSA
Robert Trevor Marshall
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New YorkUSA
Paul A. Werfel
Affiliation:
School of Health Technology and Management, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New YorkUSA
Scott E. Johnson
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New YorkUSA
*
Correspondence: Lauren Maloney, MD, NRP, FP-C, NCEE Department of Emergency Medicine HSC, Level 4, Room 050 Stony Brook, New York 11794-8530 USA E-mail: lauren.maloney@stonybrookmedicine.edu
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Abstract

Introduction:

Despite United States national learning objectives referencing research fundamentals and the critical appraisal of medical literature, many paramedic programs are not meeting these objectives with substantive content.

Problem:

The objective was to develop and implement a journal club educational module for paramedic training programs, which is all-inclusive and could be distributed to Emergency Medical Services (EMS) educators and EMS medical directors to use as a framework to adapt to their program.

Methods:

Four two-hour long journal club sessions were designed. First, the educator provided students with four types of articles on a student-chosen topic and discussed differences in methodology and structures. Next, after a lecture about peer-review, students used search engines to verify references of a trade magazine article. Third, the educator gave a statistics lecture and critiqued the results section of several articles found by students on a topic. Finally, students found an article on a topic of personal interest and presented it to their classmates, as if telling their paramedic partner about it at work. Before and after the series, students from two cohorts (2017, 2018) completed a survey with questions about demographics and perceptions of research. Students from one cohort (2017) received a follow-up survey one year later.

Results:

For the 2016 cohort, 13 students participated and provided qualitative feedback. For the 2017 and 2018 cohorts, 33 students participated. After the series, there was an increased self-reported ability to find, evaluate, and apply medical research articles, as well as overall positive trending opinions of participating in and the importance of prehospital research. This ability was demonstrated by every student during the final journal club session. McNemar’s and Related-Samples Cochran’s Q testing of questionnaire responses suggested a statistically significant improvement in student approval of exceptions from informed consent.

Conclusion:

The framework for this paramedic journal club series could be adapted by EMS educators and medical directors to enable paramedics to search for, critically appraise, and discuss the findings of medical literature.

Keywords

Emergency Medical Servicesjournal clubparamedicresearchresearch ethics
Type
Brief Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 34 , Issue 4 , August 2019 , pp. 449 - 453
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2019 

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