Colette D. Bullock, DO '07, FACOI 
Woman in Medicine

September 22, 2020

During September, which is the American Medical Association's Women in Medicine month, PCOM recognizes our female physicians who serve as faculty members and role models for our students across all three of our campuses in Philadelphia, Suwanee and Moultrie. Each campus has selected a representative "Woman in Medicine" to feature in a web story, however we honor and celebrate all of our female physicians and student doctors and their commitment to advancing equity and creating change.

Colette D. Bullock, DO '07, FACOI, holds an appointment on the clinical teaching faculty at PCOM Georgia as a clinical assistant professor of internal medicine. In addition, she directs the internal medicine clerkship program. A 2007 graduate of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Bullock also practices at Legacy Medical LLC, an internal medicine private practice in Sugar Hill, Georgia, which she opened this year.

Prior to medical school, Dr. Bullock studied clinical nutrition at the New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, New York, where she also earned an undergraduate degree. She later completed her internal medicine residency at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Stratford, New Jersey, (now Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, a part of Rutgers), in 2010 and practiced as a hospitalist for five years. Since then, she has focused on outpatient primary care medicine.

Dr. Bullock is a member of the American Osteopathic Association, the American College of Osteopathic Internists and the American College of Physicians.

According to Dr. Bullock, she is excited to have come full circle and be part of the institution that created the foundation in medicine she holds so dear.

Who/what encouraged you to pursue a career in medicine?

My earliest memory of my love for medicine comes from my parents, both nurses. I decided at around age 7 years-old that I wanted to be a doctor after listening to countless conversations about their work day. I vividly remember my dad taking me with him to work briefly one day at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and loving the pulse in the ER; it was so exciting to me and I was sold.

Why is it important for women to be in medicine?

It's important for women to be in medicine because we bring a perspective that is unique and brings balance to that of our male colleagues. Just as it's important to have people of different backgrounds in medicine because it allows us to meet more diverse needs.

How are you creating change as a woman in medicine?

I recently started my own practice at a time in medicine when very few are (and in a pandemic no less). I think the only way we can start to see the changes we want to see is to become that change. I wanted more control over my financial freedom, time and my patient relationships and I could see that just wasn't possible unless I was the one in charge of making the decisions that control those factors. Entrepreneurship is one of the ways I'm creating that change. Creating an environment that conforms to my life or the way I want my life to look and not the other way around. As a wife and mother of three young children my priorities center on how to take care of them without being at the expense of my own self-care or the patients that I love being able to care for.

What has your experience been like being a woman in medicine at PCOM?

I have to say, as a graduate of PCOM and now a professor, my experience has been great! I'm so proud of the principles I was taught as a student and the examples the professors I had gave me. They truly cultivated a desire in me to serve with excellence, which is what I hope to instill in the students I interact with and teach.

What advice would you give to a young female who is interested in becoming a physician?

I would advise any young female interested in becoming a physician to remember that even her "failures" can be turned into success stories and not to let that discourage her from reaching her goal. As much as I love PCOM, medical school is not easy. It can heighten your insecurities, make you feel inadequate at times, and took faith for me to make it through. However, it's the wrestling through that very experience that now allows me to encourage students as they struggle with these and other issues and to overcome difficulties I face day to day. I know I can succeed if I don't give up!

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