Leaders in nursing education

Connecticut Nursing News, Dec 2001-Feb 2002 by Aronson, Barbara S, Polifroni, E Carol

Catherine L. Gilliss, DNSc, RN, FAAN, dean and professor at Yale University School of Nursing, was interviewed by Barbara S. Aronson APRN, MSN as part of a Connecticut Nursing News series featuring our new leaders in nursing education. Although Dr. Gillis has been in her position for three. years, the Editorial Board of the CNN thought that our readers would still be very interested in her thoughts about the future of nursing and nursing education in Connecticut.

Catherine Lynch Gilliss became the eighth dean of Yale University School of Nursing in 1998. Formerly, she was professor and chair of the Department of Family Health Care Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco. A graduate of Duke University (BSN, 1971), she also holds an MSN (1974) from Catholic University of America and a DNSc (1983) from University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Gilliss has held nursing faculty positions at University of Maryland, The Catholic University of America, University of Portland, and Sonoma State University. Since 1979, she has directed graduate nurse practitioner programs.

Dr. Gilliss is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She is the recipient of numerous awards and has served in a number of elected positions. Her scientific interests include the family and chronic illness. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in the areas of chronic illness, family health nursing and advanced practice nursing, and two books:

*Interview questions for new deans and directors from the Editorial Board of Connecticut Nursing News.

1. Why did you choose educational administration at this point in your career and how did you get to that point?

I consider educational administration a form of "public service." The work demands an orientation to others, often at the expense of your own work. I was drawn to administrative work 10 years ago, when the Department of Family Health Care at UCSF, where I was working, was searching for a chair. Happily engaged in my own teaching and research, I participated in the process of interviewing the many candidates who came to look at our open position. But after a year, we still had not made a match. My colleagues and I entered the second year without a permanent chair, and we were learning more about how to lead ourselves. We actually were not doing 'too badly, and we realized that a number of candidates would not have been a good fit to our world. My colleagues asked me to consider leading the department, and I interviewed for and was invited to accept the position. My goal then was to create an environment in which people could do their best work.

When I came to Yale in the summer of 1998, I believed I was ready to step up to a more complex level of administrative work and to learn about the business aspects . of a private school. More importantly, I was sure that Yale's mission and core values were well matched to my own professional values and that I was well matched to the particular leadership challenges facing Yale's next phase of growth.

Before interviewing for the position at Yale and the. several other deanships I considered, I spent time with an executive leadership consultant. We reviewed my interests and skills and discussed my career goals. This "work therapy" was especially helpful at that career transition. The consultant had worked with executives from across many disciplines, and our work together reaffirmed that I had developed many executive skills that were not specific to nursing.

2. How do you envision practice and education working together to address the nursing shortage and all other key issues facing the profession?

Nursing practice is an essential driver for nursing education, but nursing education should advance and shape nursing practice. To address the shortage, two initiatives must be begun immediately. Nursing practice must create competency-based career ladders, and the pay scale must correspond to these advancing competencies. Concurrently, nursing education must provide clear and standardized models for educational articulation, from the CNA to the LPN, to the ADN/RN and to the BSN/RN. Within this standardized plan, nursing education must find a way to provide credit for competencies developed in the workplace. Once the roadmaps are in place, the opportunities for entry and advancement in nursing careers will be more obvious to the public.

The workplace environment is often cited as a deterrent for those interested in hospital-based nursing practice. Altering the environment will be the next challenge and will require that nurses are hired in sufficient numbers, are detailed to work that is truly nursing work and have a larger role in the governance of the workplace.

Continuing professional development, offered by educational institutions, should target the development of knowledge that supports the next level of competency and the critically underdeveloped area of nursing management/leadership.

3. Are you in the process or can you envision doing something for the profession that may dramatically alter your own program?