Journal Clubs & Tradition

Image from Deborah J. Good, Ph.D.

Journal clubs have been used for well over 100 years to help bridge the gap between research and practice.  Students, clinicians, and researchers have participated in journal clubs to supplement continuing education, help learn/teach critical research skills, and generate discussions related to timely issues.  By getting involved with the HNFE Undergraduate Journal Club, you are embracing a tradition that has served a long history of medical and science professionals.

Mark Linzer, in his 1987 article "The journal club and medical history:  over one hundred years of unrecorded  history," traces the history of journal clubs as far back as 1835, when medical students at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London decided to meet in a small room over a baker's shop because the library did not have a suitable reading room (p. 476).  Fortunately, in 2010 at Virginia Tech, you have access to suitable space here in Newman Library.  Additionally, you have access to the main journals related to your field, which was the impetus for an 1875 journal club that formed in Montreal because its founder needed access to periodicals "which he could ill afford to subscribe to" (Linzer, p. 475).

The HNFE Undergraduate Journal Club promises to help students discuss current literature and understand critical research techniques in a casual setting.  Questions about the Journal Club can be directed toward Deborah Good or Christina McIntyre.  PubMed Central offers free access to biomedical and life sciences journal articles, including the one discussed in this blog post.  Visit it to access full-text journal articles related to your research, the history of journal clubs, and many other topics!

References
Linzer M.  The journal club and medical history:  over one hundred years of medical history.  Postgrad Med J.  June 1987;63,475-478.  Available via PubMed Central:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2428317/

Check out the "cited by" feature that is now available in PubMed Central to see articles that build upon Linzer's research!