Historically, journal clubs have been used by the medical community to enhance an individual’s critical literature evaluation skills as well as staying abreast of current medical literature with the assessment of the potential impact on clinical practice. The first journal club is speculated to have occurred at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London somewhere between 1835 and 1854 [1]. Linzer sim...

and commentary also appear in ACP Journal Club. Therapeutics EBM Volume 8 July/August 2003 117 www.evidence-basedmedicine.com

and commentary also appear in ACP Journal Club. Diagnosis EBM Volume 8 November/December 2003 187 www.evidence-basedmedicine.com

In a recent survey of all college tutors of psychiatric training rotations in the UK and Ireland (Taylor & Warner, 2000), 97% of respondents stated that their academic programme included a journal club. However, many clubs are characterised by fluctuating levels of apathy and poor attendance. Although poorly functioning clubs run into many different problems, the most successful have certain fe...