Ethos EM is a peer-reviewed, open-access health humanities journal. We accept work across five primary categories: Original Research, Non-Fiction, Fiction, Poetry, and Visual Arts. We do not restrict your topic or focus, provided your submission directly engages with at least one of our four core scope pillars.
Whatever the category, your work should speak directly to at least one of these four foundational questions.
What does it feel like to experience, deliver, or witness acute, unscheduled care?
How do social inequities, structural barriers, or systemic failures shape the reality of unscheduled care?
Amid rapid change in the science, technology, and policy of medicine, how is professional identity forged, and how must it transform over time?
How can the health humanities impact clinicians across training and practice—and how might they influence patient outcomes?
These apply to every submission, regardless of category.
| Category | Length limit | Abstract | References & notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original Research | ≤ 3,000 body words | Structured, ≤ 350 words | AMA style · ≤ 5 tables/figures/illustrations |
| Non-Fiction | ≤ 3,000 body words | None | AMA style if citing external work |
| Fiction | ≤ 3,000 body words | None | Optional “Further Reading” / “Work Inspired By” |
| Poetry | ≤ 3 poems, ≤ 50 lines each | None | Optional “Further Reading” / “Work Inspired By” |
| Visual Arts | ≤ 3 pieces (series) or ≤ 4-plate comic | Artist statement, ≤ 250 words | 300 DPI · JPEG/PNG/TIFF; comics as a single PDF |
Scroll sideways within the table to compare every category.
Original research evaluating investigations of the human experience (patient and/or clinician) of acute unscheduled care. A clear methodology, whether quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods, and analytical framework must be provided. Traditional clinical trials are strictly out of scope.
Reflective essays, op-eds, critical commentary, and personal memoirs rooted in lived experience, factual events, or academic critique, carried by a well-reasoned argument or a strong literary voice. While privacy must be rigorously protected through anonymization, the foundational events must be true.
Short stories grounded in fictional events and characters. If you have blended multiple real experiences into an invented character or scenario—to protect privacy or to explore a theme—the piece belongs here.
A single poem or a brief collection of up to three poems. Foundational events may be true, a composite of prior lived experiences, or purely fictional. Patient and institutional privacy must be vigorously protected through anonymization.
Written lyrics are welcome in Poetry, under the same limits and literary and craft review as poems. Submit the words as text; musical compositions and audio recordings are not accepted.
Visual storytelling through photography, painting, illustration, or comics. Work must strictly respect patient anonymity. Explicit written consent must be obtained and retained for any individual who may be identified; do not upload the consent form with the piece.
Anonymization. Across every category, patient and institutional identities must be protected. Change identifying details as needed; when events are true, protect the people within them.
Consent. Any identifiable individual requires explicit written consent. Authors retain the documentation and provide it only if the editorial office requests it through an appropriate secure channel.
AI use. Non-Fiction, Fiction, Poetry (including written lyrics), and Visual Arts must be created without AI tools, including for ideas, writing, editing, translation, and images. Authors must explicitly declare that no AI tools were used in creating the work. AI may support Original Research with full disclosure; the main contribution must not be predominantly AI-generated, and authors remain responsible for the entire submission. Read the complete AI policy.
Original Research proceeds through peer review. Creative and critical work receives editorial and craft review appropriate to its form. Lead editors prepare blinded materials for handling editors and reviewers; lead editors retain author identity access. Reviewer identities are withheld from authors. Blinding cannot prevent recognition from the work itself or undo prior exposure. Accepted work then proceeds through editorial preparation and author review before publication; the published record identifies its authors, citation details, copyright holder, and selected reuse terms.
Read the journal’s policies on authorship, ethical oversight, competing interests, corrections, appeals, and publication integrity in the complete editorial policies.
The portal checks the selected category’s limits before it accepts a final submission.