ASPiRE Journal Clubs

What are Journal Clubs?

Journal Club at Alfaisal University was first introduced by the International Office as an academic initiative to cultivate critical thinking and research literacy among students. It provides a structured platform where participants review, analyze, and discuss recent high-impact medical research articles. Each session focuses on a specific medical specialty, such as Cardiology, Neurology, Surgery, Space Medicine, and more, emphasizing evaluation of study design, methodology, statistical analysis, results, and clinical relevance. Through presentations, debates, and discussions, students enhance analytical skills, develop evidence-based reasoning, and gain confidence in interpreting complex scientific literature. Beyond knowledge, the club fosters collaboration, mentorship, and a culture of scholarly inquiry within the International Office community.

Journal Club 1: Cardiology

The Cardiology Journal Club was more than a discussion - it was an immersion into the kind of careful, disciplined thinking that real clinical decision-making demands. What made this session stand out wasn't just the prestige of analyzing a high-impact NEJM paper currently reshaping industry standards, but the honesty with which its limitations were examined. Under the guidance of our moderator, Dr. Dania Mohty - an exceptional clinician-scientist with over 200 publications - we didn't simply accept the article at face value. She pushed us to question why an outcome as significant as unplanned hospitalization was placed as a primary endpoint, and what that means for how the study's conclusions should be interpreted in practice.

That insistence on looking deeper transformed the entire discussion. Our presenters brought clarity, thoughtfulness, and genuine enthusiasm, but it was the collective willingness to dissect evidence, challenge assumptions, and understand nuance that made this journal club truly memorable. It set a remarkable tone for the International Office's first session of the year - one grounded in curiosity, critical appraisal, and a shared commitment to learning medicine the way it deserves to be learned.

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