My project examines the conceptual background to the idea of 'total pain' used by the hospice pioneer Cicely Saunders.

Using Saunders own published papers and private notes and correspondence alongside the literary, philosophical and theological texts which informed her work, I am investigating the theoretical heritage of a term that is often described as a touchstone concept in palliative and end-of-life care but is rarely the focus of research.

Using perspectives from medical humanities, narrative medicine and philosophies of care, I hope to assess how far 'total pain' can be understood as a narrative concept and its relation to issues of holism, non-verbal communication, and silence.

My research is supported by an Arts and Humanities Research Council Studentship through the Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities.

• Krawczyk, M. , Wood, J. and Clark, D. (2018) Total pain: origins, current practice, and future directions.Omsorg: The Norwegian Journal of Palliative Care, 2018(2)
• Wood, J. (2018) Review: Somebody I Used to Know by Wendy Mitchell with Anna Wharton, The Kelvingrove Review, Issue 17: (Re)Creation, July 2018
• Wood, J. (2018) Review: Cicely Saunders: A Life and Legacy by David Clark, BMJ: Medical Humanities Blog, online, September 2018
• Wood, J. (2019) Review: Meaning-making Methods for Coping with Serious Illness, The Polyphony: Conversations Across the Medical Humanities, online, January 2018
• Wood, J. (2019) Fragments and Silences: Rethinking Narrative in End-of-Life Care, The Polyphony: Conversations Across the Medical Humanities, online, June 2019

• Dr Gavin Miller
• Professor David Clark

Grants & Awards

• University of Glasgow College of Arts, Collaborative Research Award for ‘Public Health, Private Illness’ ECR Medical Humanities Conference, April 2020 - £1000

• British Society for Literature and Science Small Grants Scheme for ‘Public Health, Private Illness’ ECR Medical Humanities Conference, April 2020 - £400

• College of Arts PGR Community Building Fund: PGR Medical Humanities Networking Event July 2018 - £150

I am Tutor on Society & Social Policy (DUMF1066) and 1A: Poetry and Poetics (1011)

Affiliations

• Glasgow End of Life Studies Group

• Glasgow Medical Humanities Network (Dumfries Campus Steering Group Representative)

• Glasgow Medical Humanities ECR Group (@MedECR)

• Northern Network of Medical Humanities

• Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities