https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/ <p><strong>The International Journal of Whole Person Care</strong> published by McGill 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.</p> McGill University Library & Archives en-US The International Journal of Whole Person Care 2291-918X <p>Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Creative Comons 4.0 CC-BY</p><p>Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.</p><p>Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).</p> https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/article/view/653 <p>Contributions from a McGill Whole Person Care Training Initiative</p> Lester Liao Copyright (c) 2025 Lester Liao https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2025-08-29 2025-08-29 12 2 43 44 https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/article/view/656 <p>Reflections from the Doctor as Person Fellowship Program</p> Alex Cai Copyright (c) 2025 Alex Cai https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2025-08-29 2025-08-29 12 2 45 47 https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/article/view/659 <p>Reflections from the Doctor as Person Fellowship Program</p> Oliver Terry Copyright (c) 2025 Oliver Terry https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2025-08-29 2025-08-29 12 2 48 51 https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/article/view/609 Anne-Laurie Beaubrun Copyright (c) 2025 Anne-Laurie Beaubrun https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2025-08-29 2025-08-29 12 2 8 13 https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/article/view/605 <p>&nbsp;I share my story of how an unexpected diagnosis changed my lens in caring for my patients. This story shines a light on how narrative medicine tools employed by various healthcare professionals touch me as a patient, in turn, realizing how it trickled down to strengthen relationships with my patients as their comprehensive family physician. Narrative medicine permitted me to process my health journey and re-assess my values to gain new insights on how I derive meaning and purpose.</p> Aisha Husain Copyright (c) 2025 Aisha Husain https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2025-08-29 2025-08-29 12 2 14 20 https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/article/view/633 Carolyn Mueller Aubrey Manahan Amy Crowley Copyright (c) 2025 Carolyn Mueller, Aubrey Manahan, Amy Crowley https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2025-08-29 2025-08-29 12 2 21 24 https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/article/view/595 <p>-</p> Lynne Bowker Copyright (c) 2025 Lynne Bowker https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2025-08-29 2025-08-29 12 2 25 33 https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/article/view/627 <p>This commentary explores the evolution of the sense of purpose for a mental health professional navigating the tensions between &nbsp;personal vocation and systemic realities. With a tale of lived experience, the author dives into the dissonance she once felt between the values that drew her into the helping field and the institutional conditions that often undermine them. With empathy for the individual workers, the piece critically examines how systems shape care and credibility, while affirming the importance of compassion, creativity and collective purpose. Grounded in a commitment to remain present in the field, the essay calls for a more trauma-informed, sustainable practice of the helping professions - one that values both the providers and the people they serve.&nbsp;</p> Agathe de Broucker Copyright (c) 2025 Agathe de Broucker https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2025-08-29 2025-08-29 12 2 34 37 https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/article/view/630 <p>In this reflective narrative, a recent nursing graduate explores her evolving sense of purpose through key moments in her clinical experience. From early uncertainty to a powerful experience in the emergency department, the author discovers that purpose in healthcare is not found in a single revelation, but in the stillness of presence, compassion, and being trusted during life’s most sacred moments. “In the Stillness” offers a meditation on how showing up fully, during birth, death, and everything in between, can become the deepest expression of purpose in care.</p> Ana Carrera Copyright (c) 2025 Ana Carrera https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2025-08-30 2025-08-30 12 2 38 42 https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/article/view/636 Sandra Derghazarian Copyright (c) 2025 Sandra Derghazarian https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2025-08-29 2025-08-29 12 2 5 7 https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/article/view/612 Léa Larochelle Copyright (c) 2025 Léa Larochelle https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2025-08-29 2025-08-29 12 2 52 54 https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/article/view/650 Timothy H. Wideman Copyright (c) 2025 Timothy H. Wideman https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2025-08-29 2025-08-29 12 2 1 4 https://ijwpc.mcgill.ca/article/view/458 <p><strong>Background:</strong>&nbsp; The COVID-19 pandemic caused a mandatory shift to virtual delivery of content in medical education. This study explored the benefits and limitations of a virtually delivered mindfulness curriculum as perceived by students and teachers.&nbsp; Our goal was to identify key concepts to consider for improving or implementing such a curriculum at the undergraduate medical education level.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> This was a mixed methods research study. An online questionnaire was administered and focus group interviews were conducted. Conventional content analysis was used to code and derive themes from interview transcripts.</p> <p><strong>Results: </strong>The perceptions of 35 first- and second-year medical students and five mindfulness teachers were collected. A qualitative thematic analysis of interview transcripts identified positive features of virtual delivery which included ‘convenience’, ‘accessibility’, and ‘a less intimidating environment’. Negative features included ‘decreased connection and sense of community’, ‘less accountability’, ‘susceptibility to distractions’, and ‘screen fatigue’. Many students proposed a hybrid of in-person and virtual teaching as an ideal curriculum.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Future efforts for developing or refining mindfulness curricula for medical trainees may benefit from further investigating the unique advantages of both virtual and in-person delivery methods and how they may uniquely support wellbeing and professional satisfaction. &nbsp;</p> Karen Bailey Kush Patel Millaray Sanchez-Campos Carol Gonsalves Heather MacLean Copyright (c) 2025 Karen Bailey https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2025-08-29 2025-08-29 12 2 55 72