Jérôme Bouvy, Hospital philosopher

This article is taken from the "Alumni" section of the June 2024 issue of Omalius magazine.

Jérôme Bouvy: Three years ago, the Grand Hôpital de Charleroi wanted to work on the loss of meaning in hospitals. Many questions have always agitated this environment, and this has been accentuated more recently following the pandemic, which in particular revealed a great deal of ethical suffering among caregivers. The role of a hospital philosopher, in the face of these many questions, is to open up spaces for reflection within the institution. My work therefore aims to deploy reflective practices, particularly in an environment where the search for meaning can be overwhelming, as is often the case in the healthcare field. My aim is to encourage hospital staff to take the time to think critically and share their concerns, in order to foster constructive dialogue. One of the special features of my role is that I don't speak directly to patients. I'm hired to work with staff members, whether they're nurses, IT specialists, accountants... that's over 200 professions.

J.B.: I run philosophy workshops or ethical times with hospital workers to liberate thought in the hospital and question what puts them in difficulty. These are places of comfort, where we re-weave the collective, but they are also sometimes places of discomfort. People don't just come to share their opinions, they come to question them. Workers also come to talk about their own vulnerability, as caregivers or citizens. To animate these spaces, I use tools from the new philosophical practices movement. I launch discussions with a philosophical and democratic purpose (developed by Michel Tozzi), and I make extensive use of the philosophical research community (developed by Matthew Lipman). In concrete terms, this can take the form of philosophy workshops, reading and writing groups, seminars or ethical marauding... In hospitals, the best entry point for caregivers is clinical ethics. Starting from a care situation, we can draw out the thread of questioning. We then arrive at philosophical questions or, more broadly, the humanities in healthcare. I defend the idea of a modest philosophy, with the aim of instilling a taste for philosophical practice. Philosophy isn't there to work miracles; it's there to question work. To do philosophy is already to show lucidity, to get away from simplisms that do us good.

J.B.: There are many: hospital violence, autonomy, ethical suffering, compassion fatigue, vulnerability, or lack of dialogue. Relationships between doctors and nurses can also be difficult. The question is how to organize healthcare. There is sometimes talk of a managerial turnaround in this sector at the turn of the 80s, which put the organization of work in difficulty. This neo-management trend, which originated in the private sector, is also nibbling away at the hospital sector. This calls for a kind of vigilance. Being a philosopher in the hospital is not just about accompanying change. There's such an imperative today for adaptation and agility that we also need to be able to question the need for this change, and perhaps even sometimes resist it.

J.B.: The main quality is undoubtedly humility. You don't come to the hospital saying "You're in pain, I'm here to help you", but rather with a "You're in pain, help me understand" approach. This humility is essential, because it's vital to recognize that the role of the hospital philosopher is not to provide preconceived answers, but rather to ask the right questions and encourage reflexivity. This also requires a strong capacity for listening and dialogue. Moreover, my role as president of the Cercle Carolo at UNamur during my studies and my festive side undoubtedly helped me to be at ease socially. For me, a philosopher has to know how to walk on two feet. Then there's the practical foot: being out in the field, working in teams. This implies a great deal of didactic attention (how do you arouse the interest of workers who don't feel concerned by philosophy?) The second foot is that of theory, via readings or conferences. There's always an imbalance between these two dimensions, because going out into the field means raising new questions, which call for a new theoretical exercise.

J.B.: There's a lot of curiosity about this new position. I'd love to see a network of hospital philosophers set up in the years to come - that would be great! Our ambition is to develop a culture of dialogue within the hospital, through deliberative forums that need to be institutionalized. Beyond the involvement of a philosopher, the aim is to make room for the humanities in healthcare. This can be achieved through the involvement of a sociologist, an anthropologist, a philosopher...

J.B.: I'd like to stress the importance of working seriously, without taking oneself too seriously. That's what guides me to this day. A philosopher who takes himself too seriously risks missing out on an essential form of lightness. You have to be able to find your balance and enjoy studying beyond the classroom, because partying is part of it too.

J.B.: The word that comes to mind is "family". I haven't always been a very present student, but I've never felt abandoned by my teachers. They offer support that you can't find elsewhere. I might have dropped out at 18 if I hadn't benefited from this special support.