Use of a Faculty-Led Journal Club to Facilitate Evidence-Based Practice Skills for Occupational Therapy Students

Abstract

A faculty-led journal club was utilized as a teaching strategy to facilitate development of evidence-based practice (EBP) skills for students enrolled in an introduction to health promotion course at an entry-level occupational therapy program. An exploratory post-survey study was conducted to collect outcomes in the areas of student satisfaction and perceived effectiveness. This article describes the faculty-led journal club, highlights outcomes data, and discusses considerations for use of journal clubs in entry-level occupational therapy education.

Keywords:

• Journal clubs
• occupational therapy education
• teaching evidence-based practice

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Sarah Y. Salb, MS, OTR/L for her contributions during the data collection and analysis stage of the project.

Authors Note

At the time of the study, Marta M. Daly, PP-OTD, OTR/L was Assistant Professor at the Department of Occupational Therapy at Long Island University, Brooklyn; and Jessica Guttman, MS, OTR/L; Aviva Leiser, MS, OTR/L; Ester Matatova, MS, OTR/L; and Golda Terebelo, MS, OTR/L were student researchers at the Department of Occupational Therapy at Long Island University, Brooklyn. The study was part of a faculty-mentored research project in which Dr. Daly was the Principal Investigator.

The authors report there are no conflicts of interest regarding this work.

Additional resources

Recommended reading about teaching EBP:

Levin, R., & Feldman, H. R. (Eds.). (2013). Teaching evidence based practice in nursing (2^nd ed). Springer Publishing Company.

Recommended reading about teaching online during the COVID-19 pandemic

Drachsler, H., Jansen, J., & Kirschner, P.A. (2021). Adoption of learning technologies in times of pandemic crisis. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 37(6), 1509–1512. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12626

van der Meer G.H., Milota M., de Jonge R.R., & Jansen, R.S. (2021). Practical guidelines to build Sense of Community in online medical education. Medical Education, 55, 925–932. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14477

AOTA Resources for EBP

• AOTA Knowledge Translation Toolkit – https://www.aota.org/Practice/Researchers/KT-Toolkit.aspx

• AOTA KT Journal Club Guide – https://www.aota.org/practice/practice-essentials/evidencebased-practiceknowledge-translation/kt-toolkitjournal-club-guide

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marta M. Daly

Marta M. Daly, PP-OTD, OTR/L, Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, York College CUNY, 94-20 Guy R. Brewer Blvd., Jamaica, New York, USA.Jessica Guttman, MS, OTR/L, Senior Occupational Therapist, New York City Department of Education, Queens, New York, USA.Aviva Leiser, MS, OTR/L, Occupational Therapist, Brain Builders Autism Therapy Services, Lakewood, New Jersey, USA.Ester Matatova, MS, OTR/L, Occupational Therapist, Queens, New York, USA.Golda Terebelo, MS, OTR/L, Occupational Therapist, Kid Clan Services, Clifton, New Jersey, USA.