Description A journal club presentation should explain the question the paper is asking, appraise the evidence base and assess the impact of this paper on future clinical practice (Bowles, 2013). Our paper was already chosen for us and we presented the paper in ten minutes in a group of three.
Feelings I struggle when presenting in front of people, I become nervous, lack confidence and my presentation performance is hindered. Daly et al (1989) acknowledge that public speech anxiety has a detrimental effect on public speaking performance, however there was improvement in my confidence and delivery throughout the presentation.
Evaluation The presentation highlighted the importance of looking in depth at a paper, for example; a reliable methodology, the author’s affiliations, the impact factor and how many times the paper has been cited. Bowles (2016) states that critical appraisal skills and interview skills are both developed when presenting at journal clubs.
Analysis I am not the only student to suffer from nerves when speaking in front of an audience, in fact, public speaking anxiety is the most prevalent form of anxiety and one in five people are affected by it (Bartholoway and Houliham, 2016). However, Bowles (2016) explains that rehearsing the presentation helps combat nerves and further familiarise the speaker with the information. MacCann et al (2012) found time management is a significant mediator for part-time students, but not for full-time students. Having found that I did not have enough time to practise my presentation and taking into consideration the importance of time management, this is something I must improve by planning when I will study and using a time table.
Conclusion
Students that take part in journal clubs find a significant improvement in confidence to evaluate primary literature, study design and understanding of topic (Donohoe et al, 2016). I feel the journal club presentation developed my critical analysis of an academic paper, I learnt that the paper may not be a reliable reference to use in my own work.
References
Bartholomay, E. Houliham, D. (2016). Public Speaking Anxiety Scale: Preliminary psychometric data and scale validation. Personality and Individual Differences. 94, 211-215.
Bowles, PFD. (2013). How to prepare for and present at a journal club. British Journal of Hospital Medicine. 74 (10), 150-152.
Daly, J. Vangelisti A. Lawrence, S. (1989). Self-focused attention and public speaking anxiety. Personality and Individual Differences. 10 (8), 903-913.
Donohoe, K. Dane, K. Varghese, D. Gravatt, L. (2016). Evaluation of student-led journal clubs. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning. 8 (2), 173-177.
MacCann, C. Fogarty, G. Roberts, R. (2012). Strategies for success in education: Time management is more important for part-time than full-time community college students. Learning and Individual Differences. 22 (5), 618-623.
