Our Interview With Ron Gentile, PhD, CEO & Founder of Moodfit

Ron Gentile, PhD, is the CEO & Founder of Moodfit, a mental health app offering customizable tools and insights to help users improve their mood, reduce stress, and build resilience through tracking their thoughts, emotions, and habits.

1. From your perspective, what are the most common mental health challenges pre-med and medical students face today?

Stress and time, with time pressures compounding stress. Students often face stressful situations that continue day after day. When we are exposed to ongoing stress, our nervous systems can become dysregulated, putting us into states like fight or flight or freeze. Regarding time, the irony is that such ongoing stressful situations don’t allow the luxury of unlimited time to process the stress.

2. What early signs of burnout or chronic stress should these students be mindful of?

While common symptoms of burnout include chronic fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and sleep issues, it’s important to remember that burnout doesn’t look the same for everyone. A helpful strategy is to pay attention to shifts from your personal baseline—any persistent changes in mood, energy, or focus, especially when they linger even after stressors subside.

3. How can aspiring medical students begin to build healthy coping mechanisms before entering medical school?

One thing that can be helpful is to establish a simple journaling practice where one checks in with their mind and body. The resulting awareness can be important to notice any changes due to chronic stress.

4. What role should medical schools play in supporting student mental health, and where do you feel gaps currently exist?

One key area for improvement is helping students understand how their nervous systems affect mental health. Nervous system regulation is foundational—not only for their well-being but also for developing empathy and clinical insight when supporting future patients.

5. What advice do you have for students who are hesitant to seek help due to stigma or fear of professional consequences?

It’s natural to be hesitant. Even accepting that something isn’t right can be a challenge. Know that the earlier you get help, the less severe the symptoms may be and the less involved the needed treatments. 

Even before symptoms present, it’s important to establish good practices to build mental health resilience, like journaling. But no matter what stage one is at, get help through school resources, online platforms, or any trusted avenue that feels accessible.

6. Are there specific tools, habits, or daily practices you recommend for students balancing heavy academics with personal well-being?

I’ve mentioned the importance of journaling to check in with your mind and body. There are also simple tools like breath work and gratitude that can be very helpful. Our product, Moodfit, offers a variety of tools to help students identify what supports their well-being and what may be draining it.

7. What would you say to a student who feels like they’re falling behind or not ‘cut out’ for medicine because of mental health struggles?

Mental health challenges can absolutely make medical school harder, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. With the right support and consistent practices to build resilience, many students recover and thrive. Sometimes taking a break to focus on your mental health is exactly what’s needed—and may ultimately benefit not only your career but every part of your life. Medicine is a long journey, and in the big picture, one pause will barely be a blip.

Inspira Advantage is proud to feature insights from leaders like Ron Gentile, PhD, to help pre-medical students better understand how to care for their mental health throughout the demanding journey to medical school.