Erika Powell-Burson, RN, MS, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Track

“It’s made a huge difference in my own mental health, to show up for someone else when they’re at a low point.”

At the top of her career in information security, Erika Powell-Burson, RN, MS, enrolled in the Graduate Entry Pathway (GEP) to Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program at UMass Chan Medical School after she saw how a medical team provided end-of-life care to her mother in 2020.

“There were amazing nurses that let me FaceTime my mom every day on their personal devices, and I was so touched by their compassion and service,” said Powell-Burson. “The holistic approach of nursing care was like a lightning bolt hit me, and I wanted to become a nurse practitioner. UMass Chan was my top choice to get my DNP because I didn’t need as many prerequisite courses as other programs. UMass Chan was also accepting of people of all ages.”

Powell-Burson studied organizational management at Daniel Webster College in Nashua, New Hampshire, and earned a master’s degree in information security at Norwich University in Greenfield, Vermont. She was the chief information security officer at Bentley University and served as an information security officer at Emerson Hospital, where she now works per diem as a nurse. She is also a psychiatric mental health nurse at TaraVista Behavioral Health Center.

Powell-Burson is in the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Track at UMass Chan, and through the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing, was able to travel to the Dominican Republic to see how that country handles health care and provides aid. The school also has nursing initiatives in Tanzania, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Armenia and Romania.

Powell-Burson is partnering with Brandon Gentile, RN, on a scholarly project to build resilience in GEP students. 

“We want to give back to new students and help them finish the marathon to become an NP,” said Powell-Burson. “It’s made a huge difference in my own mental health to show up for someone else when they’re at a low point.”

Powell-Burson would like to provide mental health care in a large practice. The mother of five has two sets of twins. Her oldest twins are 28, her middle son fights fires in Oregon and her youngest twins are just starting middle school.