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 (USU), where she leads the design, implementation, and evaluation of the Academic Success Program for medical students. Her work focuses on optimizing student academic performance and ensuring future physicians are fully prepared for the demands of battlefield medicine.

Prior to joining USU, Dr. Cole was the Program Director of the MSE School Counseling Program at Arkansas State University, where she supported the success and retention of over 500 graduate students. With more than 15 years in higher education, she has taught, advised, and mentored thousands of students across graduate, undergraduate, and secondary education settings. She has developed over 20 graduate-level courses and has chaired key university committees related to assessment, accreditation, and admissions.

Dr. Cole has published more than 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and presented at over 50 conferences at the international, national, and regional levels. In addition, she has secured more than $2 million in grant funding. She currently serves as Chair of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine’s Educational Research Interest Group.

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

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

Cole, R., Durning, S., Shen, C., Reamy, B., & Rudinsky, SL. (2024). Civilian and military medical school graduates’ readiness for deployment: Areas of strength and opportunities for growth. Military Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usae167

Cole, R., Egan, S., Schwartz, J., Rudinsky, S.L. (2023). The impact of high-fidelity simulations on medical student readiness. Military Medicine, 188(3), 7-14. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usac382

Representative Bibliography

Hildreth, A.F, Cole, R., Henderson, J., & Shen, C. (2025). Time is a tool: Evaluation of a Prolonged Casualty Care curriculum with a focus on temporal fidelity. Military Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usaf017

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

Matthews, K., Walther, S., Brown, Z., Cuestas, J., Shumaker, J., Moore, D., & Cole, R. (2024). Preparing future military medical officers to conduct emergency fresh whole blood transfusions in austere environments: A novel training curriculum. Military Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usae162

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

Shumaker, J, Shen, C., & Cole R. (2024). Ukrainian healthcare professionals' experiences during Operation Gunpowder: Implications for increasing and enhancing training partnerships. Military Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usad484

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

Cole, R., Durning, S., Reamy, B., Stewart, H., Williamson, S., Rudinsky, SL. (2023). A Comparison of HPSP and USU graduates’ preparation for residency. Military Medicine, 188(2) 98-105. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usac437