The effectiveness of a webinar-based virtual journal club to promote medical education
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN18036769 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN18036769 |
- Submission date
- 16/06/2021
- Registration date
- 09/08/2021
- Last edited
- 22/11/2023
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
A journal club (JC) is a group of individuals who meet regularly to evaluate critically the clinical application of recent articles in the medical literature.
JCs are uniquely geared to encourage debate and discussion about a particular topic or article driven by faculty or peers thus offering an informal peer-to-peer teaching style with a semi-structured format.
The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a webinar-based, virtual, structured, focused, interactive journal club to promote learning and knowledge among medical trainees compared to a classical group, face-to-face journal club.
Who can participate?
Postgraduate and undergraduate medical trainees who are currently enrolled in an accredited medical course or a training programme in the UK.
What does the study involve?
Participants will be randomly allocated to either a virtual web-based or a face-to-face JC. Both groups will be presented with similar educational material and follow a standardised JC structure hosted by nominated moderators and medical faculty members. The intervention duration is a one-hour educational session with a follow-up one week after.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
There are no significant risks for this study. This study involves trainees only who are already expected to engage and undertake Journal club as part of their ongoing development and training. Some trainees may feel obliged to take part however, the voluntary nature of this study will be reiterated at all opportunities as well as the fact that their participation or not will not impact on their training in any way. This study could contribute to a change in the ways in which journal clubs are run in the future thus saving trainees time, and unnecessary travel.
Where is the study run from?
Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust (UK)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
August 2020 to December 2023
Who is funding the study?
West Midlands Clinical Research Network (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Dr.Bassel H.Al Wattar, b.wattar@nhs.net
Contact information
Scientific
Reproductive Medicine Unit
University College London Hospital
London
NW1 2BU
United Kingdom
 ORCID ID |
0000-0001-8287-9271 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +44 (0)2034567890 |
| b.wattar@nhs.net |
Public
Mytton Oak
Shrewsbury
SY8 3DX
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 (0)1952 641222 ext 5960 |
|---|---|
| william.parry-smith1@nhs.net |
Study information
| Study design | Randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study setting(s) | Hospital |
| Study type | Other |
| Participant information sheet | 40042 WebEd PIS v0.1 27Jun2021.pdf |
| Scientific title | The effectiveness of a webinar-based virtual journal club to promote medical education (Web-Ed): a randomized controlled trial |
| Study acronym | Web-Ed |
| Study objectives | The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability of a webinar-based virtual journal club (JC) compared to face-to-face group-based JC as an educational tool among medical trainees. |
| Ethics approval(s) | Ethics approval was not required according to the HRA decision assessment tool |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Medical education |
| Intervention | Participants will be randomised using online computer software and allocated to either a virtual web-based or a face-to-face JC. Both groups will be presented with similar educational material and follow a standardised JC structure hosted by nominated moderators and medical faculty members. The intervention duration is a one-hour educational session with a follow-up one week after. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | Participants’ knowledge acquisition assessed using five multiple-choice questions about the journal club article. The questions will be provided electronically to allow answers to be submitted using the participants’ mobile phone immediately after the intervention and then one week afterwards. A sum up score will be calculated and stored automatically for each participant. |
| Secondary outcome measures | Feasibility and acceptability of the intervention assessed by a short survey of close-ended questions immediately after the intervention and then one week afterwards, with Likert scales anchored between 1 (low) and 9 (high) to assess the qualitative outcomes. All answers will be submitted electronically to the trial online database using the participants’ mobile phones |
| Overall study start date | 01/08/2020 |
| Completion date | 10/12/2023 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Health professional |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Lower age limit | 18 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 75 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Qualified doctors or medical students undertaking formal clinical training in an accredited medical training programme within the NHS 2. Medical students affiliated to an established UK medical university who are undertaking their clinical attachment within the NHS are eligible to participate in Web-Ed 3. Over 18 years of age at the time of enrolment 4. Able to provide electronic consent 5. Good command of the English language 6. Proficient in using basic online meeting software |
| Key exclusion criteria | 1. Any non-medic trainees 2. Non-qualified doctors 3. Under 18 years of age 4. Not proficient in online meeting software |
| Date of first enrolment | 20/09/2021 |
| Date of final enrolment | 01/09/2022 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- England
- United Kingdom
Study participating centre
Shrewsbury
SY8 3SD
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
Hospital/treatment centre
Mytton Oak
Shrewsbury
SY8 3XQ
England
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 (0)1743 261000 |
|---|---|
| sath.research@nhs.net | |
| Website | https://www.sath.nhs.uk/ |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/047feaw16 |
Funders
Funder type
Government
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 01/05/2024 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Available on request |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Planned publication in a peer-reviewed journal. |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request (b.wattar@nhs.net). Data will become available after publishing the results in peer reviewed journals for 5 years. Data can be share by making a direct request to the data custodian stating how the data will be used and for what purpose. All participants will provide a written E-consent before enrolling in the trial. All data will be pseudo anonymised before the analysis. |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participant information sheet | version 0.1 | 27/06/2021 | 30/07/2021 | No | Yes |
| Protocol article | 16/06/2022 | 17/06/2022 | Yes | No |
Additional files
Editorial Notes
22/11/2023: The following changes were made:
1. The overall study end date was changed from 30/03/2023 to 10/12/2023.
2. The intention to publish date was changed from 01/09/2023 to 01/05/2024.
17/06/2022: Publication reference added.
07/03/2022: The following changes have been made:
1. The recruitment end date has been changed from 28/02/2022 to 01/09/2022.
2. The overall trial end date has been changed from 01/09/2022 to 30/03/2023 and the plain English summary updated accordingly.
30/07/2021: Trial's existence confirmed by The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
