Power Point presentation using Article

How to Prepare an Outstanding Journal Club Presentation

Adapted from: http://www.hematology.org/Thehematologist/Features/1308.aspx

Rishi Sawhney, MD

Published on: January 01, 2006 Dr. Sawhney is a member of the ASH Trainee Council and a Fellow at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Journal club presentations provide a forum through which hematology trainees keep abreast of new

developments in hematology and engage in informal discussion and interaction. Furthermore, honing

presentation skills and mastering the ability to critically appraise the evidence add to our

armamentarium as clinicians. Outlined here is a systematic approach to preparing a journal club

presentation, with emphasis on key elements of the talk and references for electronic resources. Use

of these tools and techniques will contribute to the success of your presentation.

I. ARTICLE SELECTION:

The foundation of an outstanding journal club presentation rests on the choice of an interesting and

well-written paper for discussion. Several resources are available to help you select important and

timely research, including the American College of Physicians (ACP) Journal Club and the Diffusion

section of The Hematologist. McMaster University has created the McMaster Online Rating of

Evidence (MORE) system to identify the highest-quality published research. In fact, the ACP Journal

Club uses the MORE system to select their articles 1 . Specific inclusion criteria have been delineated

in order to distinguish papers with the highest scientific merit 2 . Articles that have passed this

screening are then rated by clinicians on their clinical relevance and newsworthiness, using a graded

scale 3 . With the help of your mentors and colleagues, you can use these criteria and the rating scale

as informal guidelines to ensure that your chosen article merits presentation.

II. ARTICLE PRESENTATION:

Study Background: This section provides your audience with the necessary information and context

for a thoughtful and critical evaluation of the article's significance. The goals are 1) to describe the

rationale for and clinical relevance of the study question, and 2) to highlight the preclinical and clinical

research that led to the current trial. Review the papers referenced in the study's "Background"

section as well as previous work by the study's authors. It also may be helpful to discuss data

supporting the current standard of care against which the study intervention is being measured.

Study Methodology and Results: Clearly describe the study population, including inclusion/exclusion

criteria. A diagrammatic schema is easy to construct using PowerPoint software and will help to

clearly illustrate treatment arms in complex trials. Explain the statistical methods, obtaining assistance

from a statistician if needed. Take this opportunity to verbally and graphically highlight key results

from the study, with plans to expand on their significance later in your presentation.

Author's Discussion: Present the authors' conclusions and their perspective on the study results,

including explanations of inconsistent or unexpected results. Consider whether the conclusions drawn

are supported by the data presented.

III. ARTICLE CRITIQUE:

This component of your presentation will define the success of your journal club. A useful and widely

accepted approach to this analysis has been published in JAMA's series "User's guide to the medical

literature." The Centre for Health Evidence in Canada has made the complete full-text set of these

user's guides available online 4 . This site offers review guidelines for a menu of article types, and it is

an excellent, comprehensive resource to focus your study critique. A practical, user-friendly approach

to literature evaluation that includes a worksheet is also available on the ASH Web site for your use 5 .

While a comprehensive discussion of scientific literature appraisal is beyond the scope of this

discussion, several helpful tips warrant mention here. In assessing the validity of the study, it is

important to assess for potential sources of bias, including the funding sources and authors'

affiliations. It is also helpful to look for accompanying editorial commentary, which can provide a

unique perspective on the article and highlight controversial issues. You should plan to discuss the

trade-offs between potential benefits of the study intervention versus potential risks and the cost. By

utilizing the concept of number needed to treat (NNT), one can assess the true impact of the study

intervention on clinical practice. Furthermore, by incorporating the incidence rates of clinically

significant toxicities with the financial costs into the NNT, you can generate a rather sophisticated

analysis of the study's impact on practice.

IV. CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS:

Restate the authors' take-home message followed by your own interpretation of the study. Provide a

personal perspective, detailing why you find this paper interesting or important. Then, look forward

and use this opportunity to "think outside the box." Do you envision these study results changing the

landscape of clinical practice or redirecting research in this field? If so, how? In articles about therapy,

future directions may include moving the therapy up to first-line setting, assessing the drug in

combination regimens or other disease states, or developing same-class novel compounds in the

pipeline. Searching for related clinical trials on the NIH Web site 6 can prove helpful, as can

consultation with an expert in this field.

Good journal club discussions are integral to the educational experience of hematology trainees.

Following the above approach, while utilizing the resources available, will lay the groundwork for an

outstanding presentation.