Brandon Gentile, RN, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Track

“I've never felt as supported in a program as I have here.”

Brandon Gentile, RN, a student in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing to Doctor of Nursing Practice Program at the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing, has a finance and management degree and studied kinesiology at the University of Rhode Island. Gentile, who is from Auburn, Massachusetts, was working as a personal trainer when the worldwide financial crisis hit in the late 2000s.

“I needed something different,” said Gentile, a father of three who earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in 2012. “A lot of my friends were nurses, and nursing aligned with my values.” 

Now that Gentile has been a nurse for more than a decade, he hopes to open a practice that incorporates exercise, strength training, diet, sleep optimization and social connectedness. He’s enrolled in the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Track at UMass Chan Medical School. 

 “I looked at a handful of schools and UMass Chan checked off each box for me: hybrid format with local clinical placements. A lot of online programs don’t find clinical placements for you, which can sometimes be another full-time job,” Gentile said. 

“Exercise has been an antidepressant for me,” Gentile said. “I want to help people achieve wellness, where medication is part of the plan but not the whole plan.” 

Gentile has teamed up with fellow DNP student Erika Powell-Burson, RN, on a scholarly project to foster resilience in Graduate Entry Pathway Program students by increasing physical activity and optimizing sleep and connectedness. 

“I’ve never felt as supported in a program as I have here. Professors understand the stress that comes along with the rigor of the BSN to DNP program. They want to support you as much as they can so you succeed.”