Judy McDonald

Biography 

Dr. Judy McDonald is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa, and the former Associate Director with the McLaughlin Centre of Population Health Risk Assessment. She holds a PhD from the University of Westminster (UK), and a MA in Education and BSc in Kinesiology from the University of Ottawa (CA). She is a reviewer for several publishers including Routledge, Springer and the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Her background also includes extensive municipal-government experience in program-management and public-private partnerships.

Her mixed-methods research focuses on operational readiness for high-risk professions, such as surgeons, air traffic controllers, and police—where performance excellence directly impacts public health and safety. Inspired by work with Olympic athletes, her Operational Readiness Framework integrates physical, technical, and mental preparedness tailored to each profession. She uses a participatory, immersive approach with the frontline to adapt her empirical framework. Among her most challenging ‘ride alongs’ was reaching Everest Base Camp in preparing for an investigation with high-altitude Sherpa guides.

Dr. McDonald’s teaching and supervision span universities, hospitals, aviation services, and police colleges. This has led to evidence-based tools for recruitment, curriculum development, scenario-based training, e-learning and evaluation. Student project opportunities with high-risk professions include: 

1. defining excellence and challenges in critical situations
2. quantifying preparedness
3. identifying competencies and performance indicators
4. isolating mental-readiness practices
5. developing profession-specific, real-world tools.

Publications 

1. McDonald, J. (2025). Gold Medal Policing: High-Performance Operational Readiness in Law Enforcement, 2^nd edition, Routledge. https://www.amazon.ca/Gold-Medal-Policing-Operational-Performance/dp/0367700239
2. McDonald, J. (2021). Mental readiness: Focusing on the cutting edge. Archives of Pediatric Neurosurgery, 3(2), May-August, e952021. https://doi.org/10.46900/apn.v3i2(May-August).95
3. McDonald, J., Dahal, G., Tyshenko, M., Sloan, D. & Sharma, S. (2015). Operational readiness: Links to Sherpas’ peak performance in tourist mountain-guiding. In Sustainable livelihood systems in Nepal (pp. 281-308). International Union for Conservation of Nature, Nepal Country Office (IUCN Nepal).
4. McDonald, J. & Gyorkos, T. (2016). Operational Readiness for conducting global health research abroad, Canadian Journal of Public Health, 107(4-5), 387-389. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17269/cjph.107.5555
5. McDonald, J., & Hale, K. (2022). Mental Readiness for Frontline Workers in Homelessness Services in Ottawa, Canada. International Journal on Homelessness, 2(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.5206/ijoh.2022.1.13720
6. McDonald, J., Hale, K., & Kirkwood, T. (2024). Excellence in homelessness services: Evidence-based frontline practices. International Journal on Homelessness, 4(3), 1-19.
7. McDonald, J., & Orlick, T. (1994). Excellence in Surgery: Psychological Considerations. Performance Enhancement, 2, 13-32, http://www.zoneofexcellence.ca/free/surgery.html.
8. McDonald, J., Orlick, T., & Letts, M. (1995). Mental Readiness in Surgeons and Its Links to Performance Excellence in Surgery. Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics, 15(5), 691–697. https://doi.org/10.1097/01241398-199509000-00027
9. McDonald J. & Paganelli, C. (2021). Exploration of mental readiness for enhancing dentistry in an inter-professional climate. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(13):7038. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/13/7038
10. McDonald, J. M., Rai, S.M., Burke, S., & Tyshenko, M. G. (2023). Preparedness and Peak Performance for Mountaineering Tourists. Journal of Development Innovations, 7(1), 1-23. https://www.karmaquest.org/journal/index.php/journal/article/view/84/59