Rhonda Schwindt

Rhonda Schwindt headshot

Rhonda Schwindt

D.N.P., RN, PMHNP-BC, PMHCNS-BC

Associate Professor (Tenured)


Contact:

Office Phone: (571) 553-0118
1919 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Ste. 500 Washington DC 20006

Dr. Rhonda Schwindt (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor (tenured) at The George Washington University School of Nursing. She is a nationally certified Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with an active clinical practice specializing in LGBTQIA+ health, trauma, and treatment-resistant mood disorders. Dr. Schwindt earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Case Western Reserve University, a Master of Science in Nursing from Indiana University School of Nursing, a Bachelor of Arts from Purdue University, and a diploma in nursing from St. Elizabeth School of Nursing. Dr. Schwindt has a funded program of research focused on improving health outcomes for the LGBTQIA+ community. She led a team of researchers that examined barriers to, and facilitators of, smoking cessation and treatment utilization in the transgender and gender expansive population as well as studies exploring best practices for teaching graduate students how to provide affirming care. Dr. Schwindt has received international recognition as an outstanding graduate nurse educator and for clinical excellence in the care of persons living with serious mental illness.


  • Outstanding Nurse Educator — International Society of Psychiatric Nurses (2016)
  • Excellence in Education Award — Sigma Theta Tau, Alpha Chapter (2016)
  • Dr. Schwindt has also been recognized for clinical excellence in the care of persons with mental illness and for outstanding scholarship in teaching and learning.
  • Reducing the disproportionate impact of tobacco use among high-risk populations
  • Schwindt, R., Elkhadragy, N., & Hudmon, K.S. (2020). Tobacco-related health disparities in gender-diverse populations: A call to action. Transgender Health [Epub ahead of print]. https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2019.0063.
  • Schwindt, R., McNelis, A., & Agley, J. (2016). Curricular innovations in tobacco cessation education for pre-licensure baccalaureate nursing students. Journal of Nursing Education, 55(8), 425-431.
  • Schwindt, R., McNelis, A., Lay, K., & Bentley, M. (2016). Student perceptions of a tobacco educational intervention. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 30(2), 167-169.
  • Schwindt, R., & McNelis, A. (2015). Integrating simulation and reflective pedagogies into a psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner course. Nursing Education Perspectives, September/October. http://dx.doi.org/10.5480/15-1614.
  • McNelis, A., Agley, J., Carlson, J., Schwindt, R., Gasman, R., Lay, K., Clark, C., & Kent, K. (2016). If you teach it, they will screen: Advanced practice nursing students use of screening and brief intervention in the clinical setting. Journal of Nursing Education, 55(4), 231-235.
  • Schwindt, R., & McNelis, A.M., & Sharp, D. (2014). Evaluation of a theory-based, hybrid tobacco education program to motivate nursing students to intervene with their seriously mentally ill clients who use tobacco. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 28(4), 277-283.
  • Case Western Reserve University, Doctor of Nursing Practice (2013)
  • Indiana University School of Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing (1993)
  • Purdue University, Bachelor of Art (1986)
  • St. Elizabeth School of Nursing, Diploma in Nursing (1987)
  • Anxiety and Depression
  • Diversity
  • Educational Research
  • Health Care Disparities
  • Health Care Simulation
  • LGBTQ
  • Mental Health
  • Substance Abuse and Addictions
  • Telemedicine
  • Tobacco Cessation
  • Input
  • Maximizer
  • Achiever
  • Relator
  • Communication