We were lucky to catch up with Dr Cee Nicole recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dr Cee, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

While working at Kaiser in Atlanta, I had a 15 year old female scheduled for knee pain. When I walked into the room, I noticed that the young lady was crying. Her mom shared that her tears came from shock because she weighed 454 pounds. This young lady had stopped weighing herself a couple years ago and she said she knew that she had put on a few pounds but never imagined that she gained over 200 pounds. At the time, I felt inadequate because I didn’t know how to comfort her and discuss weight and not make her feel judged. Overall I felt thrown into the deep end of the water because I thought I was walking into a patient room to discuss knee pain after a fall. And honestly instead of swimming, I drowned. I put my head down, examined her knee, ordered an xray and prescribed a high dose ibuprofen. For 4 years that patient and her specific weight has stuck with me because I felt like I missed an opportunity. Missed an opportunity to connect with her on a subject obviously causing her pain, but more importantly missed an opportunity to be a resource for change. I decided never again. Since then I have been diving into how often black and brown kids struggle with obesity, how the problem starts from birth, how school meals and fast food restaurants on every corner in certain neighborhoods make the problem worse, and how there is little access to a solution or help.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Dr Cee Nicole was born and raised in the Los Angeles area. She attended UC Berkeley where she obtained a BA in Social Welfare. She then obtained a Master’s in Social Work from USC because Dr. Whittle believed that a great physician treats the entire patient. With her passion heightened and reinforced, Dr Cee Nicole went on to achieve her MD at USC and complete her Pediatric residency at UCLA.

Dr Cee Nicole currently practices in Southwest Atlanta with a goal of providing excellent patient care to every patient regardless of their individual circumstance. Within a couple years of starting with the Southeast Permanente Group, she was appointed to Lead Physician. In this role, she started a literacy program, LETS Read, offering free books to patients. Still wanting to serve our patients more, to serve our families more she took and passed the American Board of Obesity Medicine exam and then took on another challenge as the first Pediatric Obesity Champion for the Southeast Permanente group. In this role she has helped to develop the pediatric weight management program for KP Georgia. Up next for Dr Cee Nicole is a children’s book called “But the Scale Says” which provides affirmation and representation for children struggling with weight, “Sweet Defeat”, a mobile game app where making the right decision pays off, and “Weight a Minute Clinic” a Weight Management Telemedicine practice launching at the top of the new year. Dr Cee Nicole and her husband, live in Atlanta with their 6 kids.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I failed my pediatric board exam 3 times before finally passing. After medical school you earn an MD. Then you complete a residency and for me that was pediatrics. I did really well on all my exams during medical school and I thought my Pediatric board exam to become certified would be no different. Except no, I failed the first time. And then I studied for an entire year before and after work and all weekend long and failed again. Then I moved to Atlanta and even decreased my hours at work to a 4 day work week and failed again!! At this time Kaiser notified me that I had one more chance to pass otherwise I would be terminated. And this was terrifying, my husband and I just bought a new home, I found out I was pregnant and I could not afford to not practice. I took that exam as pregnant as can be (2 weeks before my delivery) and thank God every day that I passed. Two years later I took the Obesity boards almost expecting to not pass my first attempt but I did and now I actually serve on a committee with the American Board of Obesity Medicine. In medicine, like many professions, there is some “test” that is somehow supposed to define whether or not you are qualified and are competent enough. During those years of repeating the exam, I felt so little. So insecure and unqualified but I knew I was a good doctor, a great doctor really but somehow I could not get that stupid exam to say so. One of my best friends told me that “if you don’t pass this test, so what. You will lose your job at Kaiser. OK. Here are 3 other places you can work and actually make more money. Don’t let a piece of paper define you. You are the only person I would ever trust with my children and everything will be ok”. That meant so much, especially since she is a big time surgeon and probably the smartest person I know. But it made me realize that there are somethings that no one can take from you and to never let someone define my worth.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

Yes. I feel as though now that I am an Obesity medicine provider, I have finally living my truth. Dont’ get me wrong, I love general pediatrics but to help a patient loose weight, even a couple pounds, after years of no success has been more than rewarding. Being able to design an approach to working with patients and families that sees them, that hears them, that treats them as individuals has been amazing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.drceenicole.com
• Instagram: @drceenicole, @sweetdefeatthegame, @weightaminuteclinic
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drceenicole/