Dorothy E. Reilly was born on February 6, 1920, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, to James A. Reilly and Mary E. Kincaide Reilly. She began her higher education at Mount Holyoke College, where she studied for two years before transferring to the Columbia University-Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing. Her early professional experience as a practicing nurse preceded her transition into nursing education.
Reilly attended Mount Holyoke College for two years before transferring to the Columbia University-Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1943. She earned a master's degree in nursing from Boston University in 1950 and a Doctor of Education degree from New York University in 1967. Her doctoral work examined characteristics of college-graduate and noncollege-graduate women entering collegiate nursing programs, reflecting her sustained interest in the educational preparation of nurses.
Reilly began her professional life as a practicing nurse, including work at the Institute of Ophthalmology and Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. She then became an instructor at the Holyoke Hospital School of Nursing in her hometown. In 1951 she joined the faculty of Columbia University School of Nursing, where she advanced to associate professor in 1958 and became chiefly responsible for undergraduate curriculum development and program planning. In 1969 she moved to Wayne State University College of Nursing, becoming a full professor in 1973. At Wayne State she directed curriculum development, helped prepare nursing teachers, and served as director of the Office of Community Educational Services, the college's outreach and continuing-education arm. Through that office she obtained federal grants for BSN and MSN outreach programs serving Michigan areas without local institutions offering those curricula. Reilly retired from Wayne State University in 1987. During retirement she continued professional activity as a visiting professor of nursing at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, in 1988, and remained active as a speaker, workshop leader, consultant, and supporter of community clinics and educational scholarships.
Developed undergraduate and graduate nursing curricula and helped prepare nursing teachers at Columbia University and Wayne State University.
Directed community educational outreach at Wayne State University and obtained several federal grants for BSN and MSN programs serving Michigan communities without local institutions offering those programs.
Published influential books and other works on nursing education and became a widely sought speaker, workshop leader, and consultant in the United States and abroad.
Received nearly three million dollars in National Institutes of Health funding associated with nursing-education and outreach initiatives.
Two nursing-education books received the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award in 1976 and 1980.
(A nursing-education work concerning behavioral objectives...)
1975(A nursing-education work on the use of clinical experienc...)
1985(A work on teaching and evaluating affective learning in n...)
1978(Co-authored with Marilyn H. Oermann; a work on clinical t...)
1992Reilly was a member of the Michigan Nurses Association and was elected to the American Academy of Nursing in 1977. She was also associated with Sigma Theta Tau, the international honor society of nursing, and maintained professional involvement through nursing-education workshops, consultations, and continuing-education initiatives.
