Welcome! The COMSEP Journal Club publishes members' review of articles from the current medical education literature each month. Reviewers get a chance to analyze an article in depth and the COMSEP membership at large gets a brief synopsis of some of the latest evidence in teaching and learning. Everybody wins!

The most recent editions of the journal club are archived below and you can search previous editions according to your interest.

If you haven't volunteered to be a reviewer, don't be afraid. Writing a review is fun, easy and a relatively small time commitment. We are always looking for reviewers. Please contact Jon Gold, Karen Forbes or Amit Pahwa if you'd like to write a review or if you have any questions at all. Fill out the contact form here and your message will be sent to them.

Jon Gold, Karen Forbes and Amit Pahwa

What is the COMSEP Journal Club?

The Journal Club is a monthly column that highlights recent articles in the medical education literature.

What is the goal of the Journal Club?

The goal of the Journal Club is to provide the COMSEP membership a synopsis of some of the latest evidence in teaching and learning.  At the same time, the reviewers get a chance to analyze a medical education article in depth, giving them some familiarity with the structure and methodology of medical education scholarship. As with other medical evidence, we hope that members will apply some of the evidence to their interactions with students.   We also hope that the reviews spark ideas for other medical education scholarship by COMSEP’s members. Finally, all previous COMSEP Journal Clubs are archived and searchable on the COMSEP website, allowing for easy access to some of the recent highlights in medical education literature.

How to Write a Review for the COMSEP Journal Club

  1. Choose a month you want to write a review. All reviews are due the first of the month they will be posted.
  2. Choose an article you want to review related to medical education.  Frequently used journals include Academic Medicine, Teaching in Learning in Medicine, Medical Education and Medical Teacher, but there are many others. If you need help choosing one, let us know
  3. Write a review that is 300 words or less using the following format:
    • What was the study question?
    • How was the study done?
    • What were the results?
    • What are the implications?
    • Click here for an example.
    • Choose 2-4 tags that would be useful in searching for this review. Click here for a list of commonly used tags.
  4. Submit via email to the Journal Club editors.
  5. Celebrate the completion of your review!

What is the format of a Journal Club review?

The Journal Club reviews are generally limited to 300 words and are focused on describing and evaluating the bare essentials of a medical education article.  It is a relatively short time commitment (a few hours), easy and fun.  For more information, click here.

How do I sign up to write a review?

Contact one of the co-editors:  Jon Gold, Karen Forbes, or Amit Pahwa