Abstract
BACKGROUND: Plastic surgery journal clubs are often unsatisfactory for both surgeons and residents, leading to frustration and poor surgeon attendance. OBJECTIVE: To assess and modify journal clubs using the principles of positive deviance. METHODS: Surgeons and residents were surveyed across five domains before and after journal club modification. These included perception of the quality of articles chosen, the quality of the presentations, postpresentation discussions, educational benefit and overall satisfaction. RESULTS: Using the principles of positive deviance, the authors were able to identify points of concern with journal clubs and make suggestions for improvement. Postintervention surveys demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in journal clubs across all five domains assessed. CONCLUSIONS: Using the principles of positive deviance, journal club satisfaction was improved. The interventions presented could be used to improve journal clubs at other institutions. In addition, the principles of positive deviance can be used to address a variety of administrative and educational challenges faced by plastic surgery programs.