The Massachusetts ACP ECP Council is excited to share a new way to connect with your colleagues when we must be physically apart. We created an event we call the Happy Hour Journal Club. Unlike most journal clubs, we use the first half hour for socializing and learning more about each other. We usually start with a prompt to get the conversation started; for instance, “What hobby did you pick up during the pandemic?” During COVID-19, these sessions took place on Zoom, an added benefit as our members are scattered across Massachusetts. Finding connection and support during the pandemic was one of the big wins we saw from this event. We spiced things up for the actual journal club section and reimagined how to discuss a recent article published in Annals that could impact our practice. To keep things light, we avoided deep dives into statistical methods but rather addressed the major findings, as one might in the hallway of an ACP annual meeting while catching up with a colleague. We closed each session by asking participants to share one takeaway they learned from the Journal Club.
The event has been well received by attendees. To add value to the program, we have begun recruiting authors and journal editors to make guest appearances to provide a unique perspective on not only the topic but also on the publication process. We were honored to have Dr. Christine Laine, the Editor-in-Chief of Annals, as a featured discussant during our most recent session. We hope to make this our signature event and continue to create robust programming going forward. Please reach out if you would like to join our next session or are interested in starting a Happy Hour Journal Club for your chapter.
Katie Jobbins, DO, MS, FACP
Back to the February 2022 issue of Chapter ECP Leader News Update