Education Concept by Grayce M Sills Who is Grayce M. Sills
Dr. Grayce M. Sills is a Professor Emeritus at the College of Nursing at The Ohio State University. She holds a diploma in nursing from Rockland State Hospital, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from the University of Dayton, and both Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in nursing from The Ohio State University.
Throughout her distinguished career, Dr. Sills has held prominent leadership roles, including serving as the past president of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association and the American Nurses Foundation. She has also been the editor of the Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. Dr. Sills’s dedication and contributions have earned her recognition as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, and she served eight years on its Governing Council. Additionally, she is a founding editor of the Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association.
Her extensive scholarly work includes numerous publications, with her research being widely published in refereed nursing journals. Dr. Sills has been honored with several awards, such as The Ohio State University’s Distinguished Service Award and Distinguished Teacher Award. She also received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Indiana University, was named Nurse of the Year by the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, recognized as a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing, and awarded the Hildegard Peplau Award from the American Nurses Association for her significant contributions to psychiatric nursing.
Professional Introduction
Dr. Grayce Sills’s unwavering commitment to nursing and the advancement of psychiatric nursing practice is best exemplified by her dedication to working with graduate students. She believes that her most significant achievement lies in her ability to mentor and support graduate students, fostering their professional growth and contributing to the development of the nursing field.
She maintains that the curriculum should be derived from students’ clinical experiences, positioning the teacher as a consultant within the learning environment. This approach ensures that the content taught is directly relevant to the students’ practical experiences, enhancing the integration of theory and practice in nursing education.
Interest in Teaching
Dr. Sills’s passion for teaching began during her freshman year in high school. Growing up in a small town, she was occasionally assigned to assist as a substitute teacher at the local elementary school due to a lack of regular substitutes. She thoroughly enjoyed helping other students with their reading, an experience that she found “really neat.” Although she did not initially plan to pursue a teaching career, this early exposure undoubtedly influenced her later decision to become an educator.
Her interest in teaching nursing solidified during her time in an Associate Degree nursing program. Observing deficiencies in the quality of nursing care, she realized that as a nurse educator, she could make a meaningful difference by improving nursing education. This realization was further reinforced during her role as a nurse manager, where she was responsible for staff development and orientation. Determined to excel in this role, Dr. Sills pursued additional training in management and general education, equipping herself with the necessary skills to support and develop her nursing staff effectively.
Her first formal teaching role came shortly after completing her bachelor’s degree, where she held a clinical teaching position supervising RN to BSN students in their clinical learning experiences. This role marked the beginning of her journey in nursing education, during which she continued to build her expertise through workshops, formal classes, and collaboration with experienced educators.
Preparation for Teaching
After earning her nursing diploma from Rockland State Hospital, Dr. Sills was awarded a tuition waiver by the New York State Mental Health Department to attend Teachers College (TC) at Columbia University. Recognized for her academic potential, she was considered an exceptional student with prior college experience. During a period when TC was transitioning from offering baccalaureate programs to master’s programs, her advisor, Mildred Montag, encouraged her to pursue a master’s degree alongside her bachelor’s, despite not having completed the latter.
Unfortunately, after a year and a half, Dr. Sills had to return to Ohio to support her sister and family, interrupting her studies at TC. During this time, administrators at Rockland State Hospital recognized her academic background and encouraged her to take on teaching responsibilities. She began teaching various nursing-related courses, including the history of nursing and pharmacology, albeit without substantial guidance or support.
Her sole teaching course at TC was instructed by James Marsell, a philosophy-oriented professor of music rather than an experienced educator. Dr. Sills later reflected that not completing her studies at TC was beneficial, as it prevented her from becoming entrenched in the prevailing educational philosophies of the early 1950s that overly emphasized rigid objectives and student studies over practical nursing practice.
When Dr. Sills applied to Ohio State University, she faced skepticism from faculty in the only graduate program in psychiatric nursing in Ohio at the time. They were hesitant to accept her due to differing academic orientations—her interpersonal focus contrasted with their psychoanalytic approach. Consequently, she and her friend mutually decided that a graduate program in sociology, specifically medical sociology, would be a better fit for her interests and career goals.
The sociology department at Ohio State offered a broader and more favorable environment compared to the experimental psychology department, which was heavily focused on laboratory research. Here, she found a supportive group of faculty who were on the cusp of gaining national and international recognition. Throughout her graduate studies, she maintained her identity as a nurse while developing a sociological perspective on nursing, ultimately integrating these disciplines to enhance her teaching and research in psychiatric nursing.
Training for Teaching
Dr. Sills credits much of her teaching prowess to her relationship with Hilda Peplau, a lifelong mentor who significantly influenced her educational philosophy and teaching methods. Her doctoral dissertation at Teachers College focused on the “Experiential Method of Teaching,” which emphasizes deriving educational content from clinical experiences. This approach fosters a collaborative relationship between teacher and student, positioning the educator as a consultant who assists students in analyzing and interpreting their clinical data.
Under this method, both teacher and student engage in the learning process simultaneously, with the student actively gathering data and the teacher providing guidance and resources for analysis. Dr. Sills emphasizes the necessity of a broad theoretical background in psychology, psychiatry, and the social sciences to effectively support students in interpreting complex clinical phenomena.
This experiential teaching method has profoundly shaped Dr. Sills’s approach, promoting a dynamic and interactive learning environment where educators and students learn from each other. She integrates this method by referring to her students as collaborators rather than traditional “students,” fostering a sense of mutual respect and shared learning objectives.
Development as a Teacher
Upon returning to Ohio, Dr. Sills sought to balance family responsibilities with her professional aspirations. She took an administrative role at Dayton State Hospital, which involved both clinical and administrative duties. Managing a large cohort of nursing students in a 12-week psychiatric nursing program, she noticed that none of the students returned as staff, prompting her to take charge of the program when the previous faculty members departed.
During the mid to late 1950s, academic credentials were less stringent, allowing her to teach without having completed her bachelor’s degree. She continued her education part-time at the University of Dayton while managing the psychiatric nursing program. This period was marked by hands-on teaching, where she and her colleagues utilized clinical data brought in by students to focus on various psychiatric conditions such as anxiety, depression, and hallucinations.
A significant turning point occurred when the State Board requested a course outline and objectives, which Dr. Sills and her colleagues had not initially developed. In response, they diligently documented their course objectives and content after each class, leading Dr. Sills to adopt her lifelong principle: “Never let an objective interfere with learning.” She observed that rigid adherence to predefined objectives often stifles broader learning opportunities, emphasizing the importance of remaining open to unexpected learning experiences that extend beyond set goals.
Hilda Peplau, her mentor, taught her that education originates from the Greek word ‘educe,’ meaning “to be led out of” or “to bring out of.” This philosophy underpinned Dr. Sills’s approach to teaching, focusing on extracting and developing students’ knowledge and skills from their clinical experiences rather than imposing strict curricular objectives.
During summers, Dr. Sills and Hilda Peplau conducted workshops together, during which Peplau encouraged her to pursue advanced degrees. Balancing her enjoyment of clinical work and student growth, Dr. Sills eventually pursued her master’s and Ph.D., integrating her clinical expertise with academic scholarship.
Her tenure at Dayton was marked by her passion for clinical work and student development, although she found supervising student nurses’ dormitories challenging due to her preference for flexible, rule-free environments. After a year between her master’s and doctorate, Dr. Sills took a teaching position at Ohio State University, where she encountered significant challenges teaching in an analytically oriented program while maintaining her interpersonal teaching style. Despite the difficulties, she persevered and learned valuable lessons about balancing different educational philosophies and maintaining her passion for teaching.
Comfortable as a Teacher
Dr. Sills has always felt comfortable in the classroom, a comfort she attributes to her intuitive teaching methods and her deep understanding of her audience. She employs a personalized approach, striving to learn as much as possible about her students, even in large classes of up to 400 individuals. By gathering information about students’ backgrounds—such as family size, rural or urban upbringing, educational qualifications, and marital status—she tailors her examples, illustrations, and stories to resonate with their diverse experiences.
This method of “knowing” her audience fosters a comfortable and engaging learning environment, allowing students to connect more deeply with the material. While there are occasional instances where she cannot establish this rapport, such occurrences are rare and typically resolved through her adaptable teaching strategies.
When Dr. Sills encounters discomfort in teaching a new course, she views it as an opportunity for growth rather than a personal inadequacy. She collaborates with students to address questions and challenges, identifying what works and what doesn’t, and continuously refining her teaching approach. This perspective allows her to maintain her comfort and effectiveness as an educator, even when faced with new and unfamiliar teaching scenarios.
Challenges
One of Dr. Sills’s most significant challenges occurred during a large week-long workshop she co-facilitated with Hilda Peplau for nurses in Ohio, focusing on interpersonal counseling and managing difficult patients. By the second day, some participants began expressing dissatisfaction, comparing the different teaching styles of Peplau and Dr. Sills. To address this, Peplau confidently reassured the attendees of Dr. Sills’s equal and superior expertise, affirming that Dr. Sills had “broken the mold.”
This affirmation was a pivotal moment for Dr. Sills, reinforcing her self-belief and highlighting the importance of mentorship in recognizing and nurturing one’s potential. She realized that a key role of a mentor is to instill confidence and belief in their mentees, guiding them through career development and personal growth.
Additionally, Dr. Sills has navigated the complexities of managing difficult teaching environments, where differing academic orientations and student behaviors can create friction. Through perseverance and support from mentors, she has learned to manage these challenges by focusing on creating positive and collaborative learning experiences, even in the face of adversity.
Another ongoing challenge is facilitating students’ growth when some appear disinterested or simply going through the motions. Dr. Sills sometimes feels frustrated when she perceives that students are not fully engaged in their learning. However, she has developed strategies to address these situations by focusing on what she can control and seeking ways to make the learning experience more engaging and relevant for her students. She also acknowledges that sometimes, despite her best efforts, there may be limitations to how much she can influence a student’s motivation or engagement.
Embarrassing Moment
Early in her career after earning her Ph.D., Dr. Sills attended workshops on family therapy at the University of New Mexico, as recommended by Hilda Peplau. Upon returning to Ohio State University, she applied these new skills in family therapy sessions with couples. During one such session, a wife excused herself to go to the kitchen and did not return for approximately twenty minutes. The wife later reported feeling better after contacting suicide prevention services.
While initially embarrassing, this incident provided Dr. Sills with valuable insights into the unpredictability of therapy sessions and the importance of resilience and adaptability in her teaching and clinical practice. Reflecting on the experience, she now views it with humor and appreciates the lessons learned about handling unexpected challenges in therapeutic settings.
Rewarding Aspects
Dr. Sills considers the most rewarding period of her career to be the “golden era” of the graduate program at Ohio State University, where she spent about a decade developing a new curriculum. This era was characterized by a shared belief and value system among the faculty, fostering a collaborative and innovative educational environment. Together, they designed a program that diverged from traditional nursing paradigms, emphasizing holistic healing and advanced clinical expertise.
The success of this program was evident in the remarkable achievements of its graduates, who went on to assume leadership positions and make significant contributions to the field of psychiatric nursing. One of her favorite stories involves a student who ran a quilt shop that doubled as a therapeutic space for older women experiencing depression. The student reported that her work in quilting had saved the lives of these women, demonstrating the profound and unexpected impacts of innovative teaching and therapeutic practices.
Dr. Sills also finds immense satisfaction in witnessing the personal and professional growth of her students, particularly when they develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between culture and health or the humanity of those they care for. These transformative experiences underscore the effectiveness of her teaching methods and the lasting influence she has on her students’ lives.
Least Rewarding Aspects
Despite the numerous rewards of teaching, Dr. Sills acknowledges that not all experiences have been entirely positive. One of the less gratifying aspects has been dealing with other educators who label inquisitive students as deviants. This negative perception undermines student engagement and stifles their potential for growth and learning.
Dr. Sills finds it frustrating when teachers perceive students who ask questions as problematic, rather than recognizing their curiosity and desire to deepen their understanding. This attitude not only hampers the students’ learning experience but also contradicts the fundamental principles of education, where questioning and critical thinking are essential for academic and personal development.
Additionally, Dr. Sills has faced administrative and organizational challenges that detract from her primary focus on teaching and research. Balancing multiple responsibilities and navigating institutional policies can be time-consuming and often leads to feelings of overwhelm. These administrative duties sometimes limit her ability to engage fully with her teaching and research interests, making it one of the less rewarding aspects of her career.
However, she remains optimistic and continues to view each challenge as an opportunity for growth and improvement, striving to turn less rewarding experiences into valuable learning moments.
Maintaining Excellence
For Dr. Sills, maintaining excellence in teaching is an ongoing commitment that involves continuous professional development and self-reflection. She believes that staying current with advancements in nursing practice and education is crucial for delivering high-quality instruction. To achieve this, she actively participates in workshops, seminars, and professional development programs that focus on the latest educational trends and methodologies.
Dr. Sills emphasizes the importance of retaining a strong connection to clinical practice, as this fosters humility and a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by nursing students. By staying involved in practice, she remains grounded and better equipped to support her students effectively.
Reading widely and expanding her experiential base are also key components of her strategy to maintain excellence. She seizes opportunities to enhance her knowledge and skills, whether through participating in service boards or engaging with diverse organizations. This broadening of experience allows her to bring a wealth of knowledge and practical insights to her teaching, enriching the learning experience for her students.
Furthermore, Dr. Sills advocates for the integration of research and teaching, ensuring that her instruction is informed by the latest scholarly findings. This approach not only enhances the quality of education but also reinforces the connection between research and practice, preparing students to become informed and competent nursing professionals.
Advice for Teachers
Dr. Grayce M. Sills offers several pieces of invaluable advice to both new and seasoned nursing educators:
- Embrace Openness to New Ideas: Always remain open to novel and innovative teaching methods. Continuously seek opportunities to learn and grow, and be willing to adapt your teaching strategies to better meet the needs of your students.
- Recognize Teaching as a Partnership: View your relationship with students as a collaborative partnership. Understanding that teaching is not a one-way transmission of knowledge but a mutual exchange can enhance engagement and facilitate deeper learning.
- Emphasize Lifelong Learning: Adopt a mindset of lifelong learning, not only in your subject matter but also in your approach to teaching. Stay curious and always seek to improve your educational practices.
- Foster an Inclusive Environment: Create a welcoming and inclusive classroom environment where all students feel valued and respected. Be mindful of cultural differences and strive for equity in your teaching practices.
- Seek and Provide Feedback: Regularly seek feedback from students and peers to identify strengths and areas for improvement. Similarly, provide constructive feedback to students to support their academic and professional growth.
- Prioritize Student Success: Focus on facilitating student success by understanding their individual needs and providing the necessary support and resources to help them achieve their goals.
- Balance Structure and Flexibility: While having a well-thought-out syllabus and clear objectives is important, remain flexible to accommodate unexpected learning opportunities and student needs.
- Integrate Research and Teaching: Combine your research with your teaching to enrich the learning experience and ensure that education is grounded in the latest evidence and scholarly findings.
- Cultivate Emotional Intelligence: Develop emotional intelligence to connect with students on a deeper level, fostering trust and creating a supportive learning environment. Emphasize empathy, active listening, and effective communication in your teaching.
- Maintain Professional Relationships: Build strong, respectful relationships with students and colleagues. Mutual respect and collaboration enhance the learning environment and contribute to a positive educational experience.
By following these guidelines, Dr. Sills believes that educators can create meaningful and impactful learning experiences that empower students to excel in their academic and professional endeavors.