EP.TU.19Are virtual journal clubs a viable alternative in the Covid-19 era?

Abstract

IntroductionDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, face to face journal clubs have been curtailed due to Governmental guidance for social distancing. We present an example of a virtual journal club set up for Orthopaedic senior house officers (SHOs) & trainees in the North West Thames (NWT) Deanery from April to August 2020.MethodsOur aims were to establish a regular online journal club for orthopaedic trainees in NWT that successfully met the objectives of the more established face to face meetings. Assessment of each session was evaluated using a post attendance survey created using an established online generator.Results64.4% (16/25 participants) had not attended a virtual journal club before, with 100% (33/33) reporting that they would attend another virtual journal club. 39.4% (13/33) of attendees agreed or strongly agreed that they could participate in sessions over more conventional meetings. 24.2% (8/33) of participants reported experiencing technical issues during the sessions. 90.9% (30/33) of respondents reporting the virtual model to be more convenient than standard journal clubs.ConclusionThe potential benefits of significantly increased accessibility, increased visiting expert contribution whilst still adhering to government guidelines; weighed against marginally less effective teaching nonetheless results in an overall benefit