Joseph DiMeo, D.O. has greater than 20 years of Osteopathic teaching experience in a blended career of medical education and clinical practice in osteopathic family medicine. Dr. DiMeo initially came to PNWU to serve as the founding Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and to establish a clinical simulation laboratory. Dr. DiMeo was instrumental in establishing a culture of osteopathic medical education in primary care. As the former Chair of Family Medicine, he built a curriculum centered around learning through simulation and interprofessional education. He was integral in hiring a diverse staff and multi-specialty/multi-professional faculty that allowed for blending student learners through interprofessional education in the courses under his leadership of Clinical Skills and Community Doctoring.
Dr. DiMeo was responsible for the development and integration of a High-Fidelity Sim Lab and Standardized Patient programs blended into the medical education curriculum. This was highly successful in advancing medicine through teamwork as well as developing clinical reasoning skills. This culminated in a diverse curriculum including hospital-based scenarios from the ER, ICU, Maternity, Surgery and Pediatric Medicine. The Standardized Patient Program utilized best practice in an outpatient care setting and resulted in a top tier nationally ranked first time pass rate on the COMLEX 2PE examination.
Dr. DiMeo during his tenure of Family Medicine Chair contributed to establishing the Yakima Valley Inter-professional Education and Practice Collaborative (YVIPEC) along with Nursing, Pharmacy, Medicine, Nutrition, and PA faculty from Washington State University, Heritage University, and Central Washington University.
His leadership in interprofessional collaboration and curricular design was recognized by the Health and Resources Service Administration which awarded a 5-year grant to PNWU for interprofessional education. Dr. DiMeo served as the founding Medical Director at Heritage University in the Physician Assistant’s Educational Program utilizing his background in interprofessional education and Primary Care Practice. Dr. DiMeo has always practiced osteopathic medicine in an interprofessional practice, first on the south shore of Long Island at the DiGiovanna Family Care for eight years and Yakima Regional/CHS/Astria Health Systems for the past twelve years.
After 10 years as Chair of Family Medicine at PNWU, Dr. DiMeo stepped down to focus on Osteopathic Family Medicine as well as assist the Hospital System with integrating an ACO into their clinic system serving as the Medical Director.
Dr. DiMeo received his osteopathic medical education at NYCOM and graduated in 1997 after an additional year of specialized osteopathic manipulation training as an undergraduate fellow. His family practice residency was at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip, NY, where he served as the Chief Resident in his final year. He received a faculty appointment in the Department of Family Medicine at NYCOM/NYIT as clinical faculty upon completion from his residency. After eight years on the faculty at NYCOM/NYIT, he moved his family to Yakima to serve as PNWU’s founding Chair of Family Medicine for 10 years.
He is very excited to return to PNWU, now a full-time Associate Professor, to teach Osteopathic Principles and Practices in the Department of Family Medicine.