EPISODE SUMMARY
This week, our host, Indrias Kassaye, is joined by Mr. Uriah Millen, a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) student, former Nurse Manager for the intensive care unit at St. Joseph's Hospital-North who recently moved on to behavioral health nursing. Mr. Millen opens up to Indrias about what he’s observed as a Black, immigrant man forging his own path in the field of psychiatric nursing.
EPISODE NOTES
Season two of “Mental Health Trailblazers, Psychiatric Nurses Speak Up,” keeps the conversation alive and meaningful with episode 6. This week, our host, Indrias Kassaye, is joined by Mr. Uriah Millen, a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) student, former Nurse Manager for the intensive care unit at St. Joseph's Hospital-North who recently moved on to behavioral health nursing. Mr. Millen opens up to Indrias about what he’s observed as a Black, immigrant man forging his own path in the field of psychiatric nursing. Uriah Millen believes providing mental health care is his calling and desires to impact minority youth suffering from mental illness and substance use.
Mr. Millen’s life took a couple of unique twists and turns leading up to his current career as a nurse. Uriah explains that he migrated to the United States from Jamaica, a year after being married, and leaving his career as a mortgage banker. Mr. Millen’s first influence in the world of nursing was his uncle. He already lived in the United States and encouraged Uriah to pursue nursing due to the financial and spiritual gains. Inspired by his new life, Uriah went to school and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2014 from the University of South Florida, in Tampa. Mr. Millen recalls, “We started with 60 students in the class and we ended up with… 18 of us actually graduating. There were three or four men… and I was the only African American [man] in the class.”
Mr. Millen’s experiences as an African-American male in a predominantly White and female-led field only inspired him to provide the most effective care for his patients at any stage in their journey–and also his associates. The last couple of years have been particularly challenging for nurses, but that has only encouraged Uriah to create spaces for his team to express their thoughts and share their experiences. He believes that those treating patients–especially in critical care–need a space to feel safe and supported by their peers in order to provide the most effective care. Mr. Millen is also focused on his patients and the factors that have led to the undeniable, upward trend in deaths by suicide and other mental health issues affecting African American youth. Uriah highlights the importance of engaging minority youth in conversations to address the mental health challenges brought on by the myriad pressures they face, including from social media, identity politics and COVID-19.
Uriah Millen has a passion for helping the underrepresented and underserved African American population experiencing mental health issues. He remains focused on reducing the stigma associated with mental illness and improving behavioral health access and outcomes for disadvantaged youth. To learn more about Uriah Millen’s work or his passion for his community, visit https://emfp.org/mfp-fellows/masters/uriah-millen (opens new window).
To learn more about the Baker Act and what it means to be ‘Baker Acted’ visit https://ufhealth.org/baker-act (opens new window)