Role of Evidence-Based Reviews in Surgery in teaching critical appraisal skills and in journal clubs

Abstract

Evidence-Based Reviews in Surgery (EBRS) is a program developed to teach critical appraisal skills to general surgeons and residents. The purpose of this study was to assess the use of EBRS by general surgery residents across Canada and to assess residents' opinions regarding EBRS and journal clubs. We surveyed postgraduate year 2-5 residents from 15 general surgery programs. Data are presented as percentages and means. A total of 231 residents (58%, mean 56% per program, range 0%-100%) responded: 172 (75%) residents indicated that they know about EBRS and that it is used in their programs. More than 75% of residents who use EBRS agreed or strongly agreed that the EBRS clinical and methodological articles and reviews are relevant. Only 55 residents (24%) indicated that they used EBRS online. Most residents (198 [86%]) attend journal clubs. The most common format is a mandatory meeting held at a special time every month with faculty members with epidemiological and clinical expertise. Residents stated that EBRS articles were used exclusively (13%) or in conjunction with other articles (57%) in their journal clubs. Most respondents (176 of 193 [91%]) stated that journal clubs are very or somewhat valuable to their education. The EBRS program is widely used among general surgery residents across Canada. Although most residents who use EBRS rate it highly, a large proportion are unaware of EBRS online features. Thus, future efforts to increase awareness of EBRS online features and increase its accessibility are required.