Teaching at hospitals: Between educational and nursing care activities

This article aims to reveal the ethical framework surrounding hospitalized school students, showing that, in the context of disease, traditional ethics do not work. From a philosophical perspective, the target audience are teachers and volunteers who teach at hospitals, but also nurses and other professionals who work with sick children. The development of an ethical framework based on the ethics of care (EoC) will enable teachers to guide their activity in hospitals, highlighting the need for another ethical framework in order to achieve a teaching practice that is fully responsible and compassionate. In an ethical framework centered on the sick child, concepts such as “care” and “well-being” are mobilized by understanding how they relate to the psychological well-being of hospitalized students. I propose that an educational attitude rooted in admiration, respect and love can be a good guide for teaching practices in hospitals, offering an alternative to the ethical limitations of codes based on a universal conception of justice.