Dr. Rachel Parmelee is an instructional assistant professor at the University of Mississippi, where she develops and teaches medical cannabis coursework for the online Master of Science in Dietary Supplements and Medical Cannabis program. Her academic and professional work centers on evidence-based medical cannabis education, with an emphasis on preparing healthcare professionals and supporting industry practices that prioritize product quality and patient safety.
Research Interests
- Cannabis pharmacology
- Medical cannabis
- Nursing education
- Instructional design
- Hermeneutic phenomenology
- Patterns of knowing
Biography
Dr. Rachel Parmelee has been a registered nurse since 2008. Her early clinical career included ten years of practice in neurology and spinal cord injury at a downtown Detroit hospital in Michigan. Dr. Parmelee holds a Master of Science in Nursing with a focus on innovative online education and is both a Certified Nursing Educator and an Advanced Holistic Nurse–Board Certified. She completed a PhD in nursing education with a scholarly focus on medical cannabis education.
Dr. Parmelee began developing medical cannabis courses for accredited college degree programs in 2020 and has taught healthcare professionals and presented at professional conferences since 2016. In 2023, she was elected President of the American Cannabis Nurses Association, where she played a key role in the successful recognition of Cannabis Nursing as an official nursing specialty and co-edited the Scope and Standards of Cannabis Nursing publication. Her scholarly contributions include publications in the Journal of Nursing Regulation, as well as co-authored chapters in pharmacology and neurology for a cannabis nursing textbook published by Wolters Kluwer. Her work supports the integration of cannabis-related knowledge into healthcare and industry-related curricula to promote informed patient care and industry standards.
Education
M.S.N Nursing, Purdue University Global (2019)
Ph.D. Nursing, Walden University (2025)