Arch Intern Med
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While there has been extensive research on interventions designed to increase knowledge of research methods in the setting of journal clubs, little is known regarding other features that are of potential importance. To my knowledge, no research to date has described the attributes of journal clubs associated with high resident attendance and the avoidance of periodic abandonment. I sought to determine how journal clubs in postgraduate programs in internal medicine are organized and to identify the features associated with high attendance and continuous existence. ⋯ If residency journal club success is defined as having high attendance or long, continuous existence, then success is associated with smaller residency programs, making attendance mandatory, promoting a journal club independent of faculty, providing formal teaching of critical appraisal skills, making food available, and emphasizing original research articles. Residency programs in internal medicine seeking to establish journal clubs with long, continuous existence or high attendance should focus on these attributes.