The gift of PHOENIX
I had the incredible opportunity to work with PHOENIX Rising last winter while I was a nursing student at OHSU. PHOENIX is a community partner of the OHSU School of Nursing, so each quarter, a couple students are placed with them as part of our community health rotation. I was very excited about my placement, but I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I don’t think I could have predicted the profound effect that getting to know the remarkable men of PHOENIX would have on me. I didn’t just learn what it means to be a community health nurse; I gained a deeper understanding of my own community.
The criminal justice system is designed to put a literal and figurative wall between its prisoners and the rest of us; those of us on the outside are not encouraged to see incarcerated individuals as a part of our community. Of course, this is to the detriment of the men and women who are caught up in the system. Research shows that incarceration has a dramatic effect on the health outcomes of those who do time. Unfortunately, these negative outcomes don’t receive near enough attention from the rest of society, including the medical community.
As a nurse, I am taught that advocacy and empowerment are an important component of the care that I provide, and we are taught to treat all of our patients with unconditional positive regard. These concepts took on a whole new meaning as a result of my work with PHOENIX. Hearing the men speak honestly and passionately about their lives and their barriers, but also their own goals and vision for their health, I came to see how vitally important it is to advocate for and empower those caught up in a system that is so often working against them. My own practice as a nurse is now informed by the truth that our community includes the men of PHOENIX and all those who are incarcerated, and that using whatever power we have to advocate for them has the potential to radically transform the health of our entire community. This is the gift that PHOENIX gave to me, and I am ever so grateful.
-Kendra Birnley, OHSU Nursing Student