The International Journal of Whole Person Care, published by McGill University's Programs in Whole Person Care, aims to serve as a scholarly forum for how we approach health care, with an emphasis on the existential/spiritual aspects of health research and practice. The journal is interested in scholarly work that addresses the intersection between personhood, health and suffering as well as approaches that facilitate congruence between patients, practitioners and their environments.
This Journal showcases the efforts of healthcare professionals and their patients, researchers and others from around the world working to treat the person holistically with dignity and compassion. It also encompasses the whole person of the practitioner based on the postulate that well professionals foster well-being in those they serve. This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Please feel free to go to the site and browse articles of interest. All articles are freely available without subscription or price barriers.
Call for submissions
New Wisdom in Practice Submission Stream
This stream aims to address critical gaps in the available literature that provides meaningful support in how clinicians navigate daily challenges to providing whole person care. Some of the most challenging aspects of clinical practice relate to moral, ethical and/or inter-personal dilemmas that may not have clear evidence-based solutions. The Wisdom in Practice stream aims to provide practicing clinicians with an accessible forum for reporting on these clinical dilemmas as well as sharing on their self-reflections as to how they navigated clinical management. The goal of this stream is to address aspects of care that can’t be readily addressed by evidence-based medicine or ethical guidelines and to shed light on the discernment process that is often foundational to providing whole person care.
This submission stream is designed to facilitate contributions from practicing clinicians that may or may not have experience in publishing clinical research. Submissions are intended to be brief (3,000 word maximum), providing an overview of the clinical dilemma and self-reflection on the clinical care decisions. Established guidelines for case study reports can be used to help inform the description of the clinical dilemma. Ideal case studies will present challenges without clear "right" answers and that highlight important challenges in relation to the use of a whole person approach to care. Themes from the available literature on integrating wisdom in healthcare can be used to help inform the self-reflection section; these themes include (but are not limited to): fairness, trustworthiness, emotional intelligence, mindfulness, courage, resilience, reflexivity.
Submissions can be made through the Commentary stream of the Journal’s online portal: https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/about/submissions
Submission deadline: April 5th, 2024
Special Issue on Vulnerability
How we relate to vulnerability can shape our professional lives
Vulnerability is an inherent part of putting our self into our work. Making something our own, pioneering a new approach, creating meaningful connections with others – each of these vocational activities can inspire some degree of vulnerability. Feelings of vulnerability can often be associated with some of our most challenging emotions, such as fear, guilt, and shame. Having some personal awareness into these feelings is an important professional competency for a career in healthcare. For instance, a lack of self-awareness in relation to one’s vulnerabilities may contaminate therapeutic relationships with patients and undermine working relationships with professional collaborators. And, yet, practicing vulnerability has the potential to help us transcend these challenges by creating a deep sense of strength, purpose, and inter-connection with others. The people and environments that surround us can often shape how we manage and express our vulnerability. Developing our capacity to understand and manage our vulnerability can create new professional community, and it is often an important part of cultivating and advancing a vocation in healthcare.
We want to hear about your experiences with vulnerability
This special issue of the journal will focus on exploring and unpacking personal experiences in relation to vulnerability. The focus will be on first-person narratives that relate these experiences to professional life in healthcare.
Submission details:
- Brief paper (up to 3000-words) addressing the theme of vulnerability in healthcare.
- Submissions can be made through the Commentary stream of the Journal’s online portal: https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/about/submissions
- Submission deadline: April 5th, 2024
Contact:
For any inquiries or additional information, please contact angelica.todireanu [at] mcgill.ca (Angelica Todireanu).
