Using an online journal club to improve Asian speakers’ comfort in using English to discuss and understand research papers written in English

Introduction This study aimed to evaluate the participants’ comfort in understanding research papers written in English and discussing such research in English via an Asian online journal club. Methods A self-administered online survey was delivered to seven journal club meeting attendees from July 2020 to July 2021. A customer satisfaction analysis was performed to assess the association between the participants’ perspectives on program logistics and satisfaction. Results The recovery rate was 37.0% (44/119). After participating in the journal club, the median scores of critical appraisal skills, knowledge and/or pharmaceutical care skills in clinical practice, and discussion skills in English (assessed using a seven-point Likert scale) improved significantly (compared to pre-participation median scores) from 4 (interquartile range [IQR]: 3–5) to 5 (IQR: 4–6), 5 (IQR: 4–5) to 5 (IQR: 5–6), and 4 (IQR: 2–5) to 5 (IQR: 3–5), respectively ( P < 0.0001). The respondents also expressed great appreciation for the benefits and overall qualities of the journal club. Additionally, regarding patient care behavior after participation in the journal club, 34 (77.3%), 17 (38.6%), 16 (36.4%), and 14 (31.8%) respondents reported improvement in “drug information services,” “patient assessments,” “patient counseling,” and “multidisciplinary rounds,” respectively. Customer satisfaction analysis revealed that sharing information, mutual discussion, a shift system of presenters and co-chairs, and session duration should be improved as a matter of highest priority. Conclusion The findings suggest that our program could be helpful for Asian pharmacists, pharmacy students, and faculty members of the department of pharmacy.