Some of you may recall the “That Was the Year that Was” plenary presentation at AGS where the year’s practice-changing literature was critically reviewed and commented upon by Mount Sinai faculty and fellows.
Although we’re not yet ready to reprise this, POGOe is now able to offer concise critical appraisal summaries of recent articles in ReCAP (Repository of electronic Critically Appraised Papers). Since its launch, over 100 CAPs have been posted. ReCAP is intended to become a national online evidence-based journal club in geriatrics, and a forum for geriatrics fellows and faculty to keep abreast of new studies and comment on their concerns about them, including the significance and application to the care of geriatric patients.
Where do the CAPs come from? Currently they’re written by fellows and faculty from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Duke University. Fellows complete a critical appraisal of a recent journal article and post it on ReCAP using a template. Any type of study is eligible, be it Clinical Prediction Rule, Diagnosis, Meta-Analysis, Prognosis, or Therapy. A list of citations to the latest journal articles in geriatrics is provided by an alert from Evidence Updates at McMaster University. These citations (from over 120 premier clinical journals) are pre-rated for quality by Evidence Updates research staff, then rated for clinical relevance and interest by at least 3 members of a worldwide panel of practicing physicians. Each citation includes a link to the article on PubMed. Fellows choose one of these articles for their review and submission. Articles not appearing on the list can be added once approved by member’s faculty advisor.
The POGOe readership can read the CAP and comment on their concerns about the article or the review. This will give us the opportunity to discuss as a community the validity of applying the results of an article to our patients. It will also enhance a fellowship directors’ ability to teach evidence-based medicine and hone fellows’ skills by critically examining evidence presented in recent clinical research articles.
We are currently looking to expand the number of ReCAP contributors to involve more fellowship programs or individual faculty. If you have faculty who would like to participate, or if you would like to have your fellows write CAPs as part of their academic scholarship, let us know by contacting the POGOe Editor here. The basic steps to posting a CAP are minimal, and we will contact you directly to discuss the details of the process. The CAPs can be cited on one’s CV.
Get involved, and who knows, perhaps at the next AGS meeting it will be your fellow presenting “That Was the Year that Was”.