Rebekah Cole Ph.D., M.Ed.

Education

Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA - Ph.D. Counseling
College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA - M.Ed. School Counseling
College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA - BA English, minor in Hispanic Studies
Stanford University, Stanford, CA - Certificate, Foundations of Data Science

Biography

Dr. Rebekah Cole serves as the Acting Assistant Dean of Academic Success at the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine, where she leads institutional efforts to advance learner performance, wellbeing, and professional development across undergraduate medical education. Since assuming this role in March 2025, she has spearheaded the development of a comprehensive, evidence-based Academic Success Program and launched the School of Medicine’s Academic Success Team—a coordinated, multidisciplinary infrastructure designed to proactively support student achievement within a competency-based medical education (CBME) framework.

Dr. Cole holds a Ph.D. from the Darden School of Education at Old Dominion University and a M.Ed. from the School of Education at William and Mary, bringing over 18 years of experience in higher education with expertise in learner development, assessment, and program evaluation. Prior to joining USU, she served as Program Director of the MSE School Counseling Program at Arkansas State University, where she led recruitment, retention, and training initiatives for more than 500 graduate students, developed over 20 graduate-level courses, and chaired key committees in assessment, accreditation, and admissions.

At USU, Dr. Cole’s research focuses on operational readiness, simulation-based education, uncertainty tolerance, leadership and followership, and the integration of artificial intelligence into medical training. She served from 2021-2025 as Director of Research in the Department of Military and Emergency Medicine, where she led the development of the first formal research and evaluation infrastructure for military medical field exercises, including Operation Bushmaster. Her work has enabled rigorous, programmatic assessment in high-fidelity operational training environments and has contributed to over 80 peer-reviewed publications and more than $2 million in funded research.

Dr. Cole also provides national leadership in medical education research as Chair of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Educational Research Interest Group, where she leads a community of over 800 members, and as Chair of SAEM’s Advanced Research Methodology Evaluation and Design (ARMED) program, a year-long faculty development initiative. In addition to her academic and leadership roles, Dr. Cole has contributed to institutional governance at USU through service on the Executive Curriculum Committee, Assessment Committee, Faculty Senate, and multiple departmental committees. Her work has been recognized with national awards for educational research, innovation, and leadership.

Dr. Cole’s work is driven by a commitment to preparing future military physicians for success in complex, high-stakes operational environments through rigorous, learner-centered, and forward-looking medical education.

Career Highlights: Positions, Projects, Deployements, Awards and Additional Publications

Cole, R. (2026). Advancing crisis readiness through progressive simulation in undergraduate medical education. Advances in Simulation. https://doi: 10.1186/s41077-026-00427-w

Cole, R., Peacock, J., Samuel, A., Cole, J., & Duncan, J. (2026). Embedding AI competencies in military medical education: A longitudinal framework for readiness. Military Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usag068

Cole, R. & Remondelli, M.H. (2025). The time is now: Confronting the mental health challenges of future Large-Scale Combat Operations. Military Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usaf156

Cole, R., Shumaker, J., & Rudinsky, S. (2025). “It’s there and you’re changed forever”: Military physicians' perceptions of moral injury. Journal of Military Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1080/15027570.2025.2492929

Flash, Z., Tamburo, A., & Cole, R. (2025). Integrating international students into military medical education and training. Military Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usaf107

Crawford, K., Farrell, M., Barilla, A., Hildreth, A.F., & Cole, R. (2025). Beyond command: Exploring the dynamics of the Military Medical Officer and Non-Commissioned Officer relationship in military medicine. Journal of Special Operations Medicine. https://doi.org/10.55460/UH66-Y9QW

Cole, R., Crawford, K., Olmstead, M., Vojta, L., Schwartz, J., & Rudinsky, SL. (2025). The relationship between the Military Medical Officer and Commanding Officer: Implications for education and training. Military Medicine, 190(1-2). https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usae337

Cole, R. (2024). Validation of experiential learning at USU. Military Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usae435

Cole, R., Pearce, E., Hildreth, A., Xiao, R., & Vojta, L. (2024). The impact of a pre-hospital simulation on medical students’ resourcefulness, personal growth initiative, and uncertainty tolerance. Academic Emergency Medicine Education & Training. https://doi.org/10.1002/aet2.11032

Cole, R., Shen, C., Shumaker, J., Matthews, K., Brown, Z., Cuestas, J., & Rudinsky, SL. (2024). The impact of simulation-based training on medical students’ whole blood transfusion abilities. Transfusion. https://doi.org/10.1111/trf.17906

Representative Bibliography

Cole, J., Duncan, J., & Cole, R. (2025). Using pre-trained large language models for automated assessment in medical education. Academic Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000006207

Cole, R. (2025). Balancing research and realism: Strategies for unobtrusive evaluation during high-fidelity simulation. Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.15723

Cole, R. (2025). Beyond mentorship: Reframing sponsorship as a critical catalyst in health professions education research. Advances in Health Sciences Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-025-10459-y

Cole, R. (2025). Building a program of research in medical education: Recommendations from the professional literature. Medical Education Online. https://10.1080/10872981.2025.2546869

Cole, R., Bowling, C., Ren, X & Vojta, L. (2024). Simulation-based education’s impact on medical students’ tolerance of uncertainty: A grounded theory study. Medical Teacher, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2024.2438787

Cole, R., Hildreth, A., Pickering, R., & Rudinsky, S.L. (2024). Peer teachers’ professional identity development during a prehospital simulation: A grounded theory study. Simulation in Healthcare. doi:10.1097/SIH.0000000000000791

Cole, R., & Bronstein, MV. (2024). Stress and resilience among military medical students completing a high- fidelity educational deployment simulation. International Journal of Healthcare Simulation. https://doi.org/10.54531/bhtx8590

Cole, R., Wagner, R., Egan, S.J. Van Shufflin, M.W. & Tilley, L. (2023). Military medical student experiences during a Prolonged Casualty Care simulation. Journal of Military and Veteran Health. https://doi-ds.org/doilink/10.2023-98438352/JMVH Vol 31 No 4

Cole, R., Steffins, K., Flash, Z., Conley, S., & Givens, M. (2023). The impact of progressive simulation-based training on tourniquet application. Journal of Special Operations Medicine. doi:10.55460/X6XO-RVXC

Cole, R., Herman, S., Hughes, J., & Rudinsky, S. (2023). The Military Medical Officer’s current day professional identity: An enhanced model. Military Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usad094