Data from: Chinese Obstetrics and Gynecology Journal Club (COGJOC): A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives: To assess whether a journal club model could improve comprehension and written and spoken expression of medical English in a population of Chinese medical professionals. Setting and Participants: The study population consisted of 52 medical professionals who were residents or postgraduate students at the master and PhD levels at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, China. Intervention: After a 3-part baseline examination to assess medical English comprehension, participants were randomized to either 1) an intensive journal club treatment arm or 2) a self-study group. At the conclusion of the 8-week intervention participants (nIRB=52) were re-tested with new questions. Outcome measures: Primary outcome was the change in score on the multiple choice examination. Secondary outcomes included change in scores on the written and oral examinations with modified grading scales used from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Results: Both groups improved on multiple choice assessment without a statistically significant difference between groups (90% power). However, there was a statistically significant difference between groups with respect to both mean improvement in written (95%CI:[1.1,5.0],p=0.003) and speaking scores (95%CI:[0.06, 3.7],p=0.04) favoring the journal club intervention. Conclusion: Interacting with colleagues and an English-speaking facilitator in a journal club environment improved both written and spoken expression of English medical literature in Chinese medical professionals. Implications include using journal clubs as a self-sustainable teaching model to improve fluency in medical English for international colleagues.