May 24, 2005 :: No. 216

A nurse whose personal goal was to earn a master’s degree not only fulfilled that desire, she has won the Giles T. Brown Outstanding Thesis Award. She will be honored at Cal State Fullerton’s Honors Convocation Friday, May 27, on the eve of the university’s annual commencement ceremonies.

Elizabeth Wessel of Orange returned to her alma mater 21 years after earning her bachelor of science degree in nursing. Working as an educator in end-of-life care, Wessel wanted to focus her research in this area when she set out on her thesis effort. The end result is “Palliative Care Education and Reflective Narratives in Orientation: A Strategy to Increase Self-Awareness of Nurses’ Attitudes Toward Death and Dying.”

Her thesis was characterized as “a masterful example of dealing with sensitivities in the field of hospice care,” by Ray Young, associate vice president for academic programs.

Award selection is based on nominations submitted by faculty members. The award is named for Giles T. Brown, emeritus associate vice president for academic affairs, dean of graduate studies and professor of history.

“I believe that end-of-life care is my calling,” noted Wessel, director of education/mission services with St. Joseph Health System Home Health Network in Orange. While attending classes for her undergraduate degree, she took care of a family friend, and her first nursing position was as a staff nurse in the oncology unit of St. Joseph Hospital.

“I was very attracted to coming back to Cal State Fullerton. I got a great education the first time I attended, and it’s been wonderful this second time,” she said, noting that the master’s program allowed her to continue working full time while attending courses in the evening. “My instructors were very encouraging and supportive. They allowed me to focus my studies and research in an area that was meaningful to my work.

“With lengthening life spans and increased use of medical technology for life-threatening illnesses, the ability for nurses to provide compassionate and effective end-of-life care is increasingly important,” noted Maryanne Garon, assistant professor of nursing, in her nomination of Wessel.

“Ms. Wessel, as a hospice nurse, has recognized its importance and developed an intervention aimed at helping nurses learn to be more comfortable with their own attitudes about death and dying and more able to care compassionately for their dying patients,” Garon noted.

“Ms. Wessel has been able to capture the essence of the work of the nurse in the care of the dying by using their own words. There are few human experiences that equal the emotional journey of working through the end of life with a patient and family.”

Wessel earned her master’s degree in 2004, and her thesis was selected this spring for the 2005 honor.

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