Meet Dr. Alyssa Cole

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dr. Alyssa Cole. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dr. Alyssa, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

As a physician and content creator (@doctor.cole), I have had years of experience caring for patients, giving lectures, and presenting at conferences. But with each public speaking event or patient encounter, there always comes a moment right before I introduce myself that I think back to my first year as an intern. I remember donning my long white coat and looking down at my name badge with the designation “Doctor” in big bold letters. I had just started my residency training, which meant I was still learning and growing, but the title gave me so much more autonomy and responsibility. It felt surreal but at the same time, like I was wearing a costume rather than a uniform. Like I had not earned this recognition despite my four years of medical school education, the long hours studying, and passing my board exams. I felt what I later came to learn is known as imposter syndrome; the internal belief that we don’t deserve the acknowledgment or success that we have, in fact, achieved. However, as I found myself on the wards, learning from patients, attendings and residents, the costume suddenly became real. By embracing these feelings of self-doubt, I strengthened my own approach to patient care, filling in knowledge gaps and building my confidence.

Imposter syndrome is further defined as a psychological phenomena of doubting one’s abilities or feeling like a fraud. It disproportionately affects high-achieving individuals, especially women. They struggle to accept their accomplishments, doubt their skills and abilities, and question their success and intelligence. These feelings of insecurity can be associated with stress, anxiety, and depression. It can occur in work environments, academic settings, and with social interactions.

Fast-forward to today, where I am currently practicing as an attending physician sub-specialized in cancer rehabilitation. I now serve on the Forbes Health Advisory Board as well as a member of the World Health Organization’s Fides community to prevent the spread of medical misinformation. These roles come with a lot of expectations set by mentors, colleagues, patients, friends, family, and especially myself. Such standards can be overshadowed by the fear of failure, which is why recognizing the pattern before internalizing the emotions is so important. The rest is building your confidence, knowing your worth, and increasing your self-esteem. The following steps have helped me and I hope they will help you too:
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1. Recognize the syndrome for what it is so you can process and address it.
2. Remind yourself of your purpose, your accomplishments, and what it took to get where you are today. It’s true what they say – you know more than you think you do. Trust yourself.
3. Reinforce your perspective with the help of others; reach out for support and guidance. Find a mentor and role model,
4. Represent yourself, your title, your position as the person you have worked so hard to become. Don’t be afraid to take advantage of opportunities that challenge you and further your career. DO NOT let impostor syndrome hold you back.
5. Review what you have done so far to find areas of improvement. This may mean writing things down and asking for feedback from others.

You can learn more on my blog dailydoseofvita.blogspot.com or at my Instagram and TikTok @doctor.cole.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’ve always been a go-getter who focuses on balancing the right side of my brain (the creative side) with the left side (the logical side). This led me to earn a dual-degree in biology and classics as a pre-med student. I loved the artistry of photography, videography, and story-telling growing up as much as I loved understanding the science behind it all. During medical school, I sought a unique opportunity to help me pay for my tuition by competing in Miss America pageants. At that time, I also started a blog to document my time in pageantry. Competing and blogging combined helped me develop not only my writing skills but also my public speaking, on-stage presence, and networking skills.

As I began my intern year of medical training, I realized I needed a creative outlet and decided to update my pageant blog into a lifestyle and wellness blog titled Daily Dose of Vita (dailydoseofvita.blogspot.com). This led me to share posts on social media through my account @doctor.cole, focusing on healthcare, work-life balance, fitness, fashion, travel, and food.

While in residency, I pursued my MBA and got my first taste of entrepreneurship. When the pandemic occurred, I teamed up with an apparel company to design and create antimicrobial gloves as a way of extending my outreach beyond the hospital doors to help protect the community. Since then, I have started my own company Sage Initiatives, LLC, collaborating with brands all over the world on content creation while offering my unique perspective as a physician. I’ve connected with prospective and current medical students, residents, fellows, and attendings along with other healthcare workers, highlighting my journey to becoming a cancer rehabilitation physician, an associate program director, and entrepreneur.

I am currently practicing as a a physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor sub-specialized in cancer rehabilitation, helping to optimize the function and quality of life of my patients. As a cancer rehabilitation doctor, I care for patients before, during and after their cancer treatment. I help diagnose and treat a variety of neurologic, musculoskeletal and lymphatic conditions and side effects that can result from cancer-related interventions like radiation, surgery and chemotherapy. With each patient, I strive to enhance their functional capacity and overall well-being. I am now an Assistant Professor and the Associate Program Director of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Charlottesville, Virginia where I practices as an attending physician. I am the only Cancer Rehabilitation sub-specialist in the state of Virginia and love being able to share my expertise all over the world, from Sydney, Australia to San Diego, CA, and soon Marakesh, Morrocco for our annual medical conference.

I use my online presence to advocate for physician well-being and share evidence-based medicine, which has led me to become a Forbes Health Editorial Advisory Board member and World Health Organization Fides network member. Last year, I competed for Miss Virginia USA and won the Social Media Online Advocacy award in recognition of my content creation. I also published first children’s book, An Apple A Day (available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Apple-Day-Unraveling-Online-Myths/dp/B0CTV5TWBL), which teaches readers about preventing the spread of misinformation. My goal is to inspire others to pursue their dreams, having fostered an online community of over 39 thousand #colesetters (think goal setters) across my platforms.

You can follow me @doctor.cole on Instagram and TikTok and read my blog Daily Dose of Vita at dailydoseofvita.blogspot.com.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I think I answered this question previously so will answer another question listed as an option:

“Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?”

There were several bumps along the way to reaching my destination as both a physician and content creator/entrepreneur. The hardest one was balancing the two – sometimes it felt like I was living a Hannah Montana lifestyle. There were challenges with navigating professional and personal boundaries, ensuring I followed all social media guidelines, and often having to pivot when it came to sharing certain aspects of my life. I am so grateful to have such a strong support network of family, friends, and fellow content creators to help me get through it all. I can now say I’ve got the best of both worlds.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I love meeting and working with new brands and creators. I’m especially involved in the health and wellness space along with fitness, fashion, travel, and food. Please feel free to DM or message me on Instagram and/or TikTok @doctor.cole and if you enjoy the content, would love to have you follow along/subscribe and share with those who may be interested!

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Reza Venegas

Cory J Popp

Maggie Zulovic

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