Hospital Pedagogy, a Bridge Between Hospital and School
Hospital Pedagogy, a Bridge Between Hospital and School

Summary/Abstract: Hungary has offered bedside teaching by establishing schools in sanatoriums even at the beginning of the century. Since then the education of children undergoing long-term treatment has undergone many changes but the need remained in fact, strengthened. The hospital teacher is responsible for the education of children undergoing long-term therapy. The diagnosis, the living conditions and the drastic changes in the quality of life, the hospital environment, the physical and mental injuries caused by treatments are a large burden on the young, still developing and vulnerable personality. Currently in Hungary there are no standardized or the professional requirements for hospital teachers also there is no training for them, or a common employer, or a standardized salary. However, there are some working models for all these which proved to be effective, so we should just build on what is established. To get this profession a valuable position on the Hungarian job market there is a need to centralize employer and salary, and to revise common expectations on their training, also to clarify the boundaries of competence in between the child’s original school and the hospital school. Establishments of an appropriate legal framework and civil initiatives are essential to reach our goals. There are already signs of changes in the position of hospital teachers whom used to be outsider in healthcare and in education as well for many decades. People start to recognize there is a need for integration in professional hospital pedagogy as they are the ones who create a bridge between the children’s old and new life environments.

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