Physician Assistant Program

Joseph Zaweski

Joe Zaweski

Joseph Zaweski, MPAS, PA-C Assistant Dean and Program Director for the Physician Assistant Program
Associate Professor of Physician Assistant Studies
Joseph.Zaweski@valpo.edu 219.464.6512 LeBien–Annex B, Office #125 (LEB125)

Biography

Professor Zaweski serves as the Assistant Dean and Program Director for the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies Program.

Prior to joining our faculty, Professor Zaweski served for 9 years as Assistant Professor and Academic Coordinator for Arcadia University’s Physician Assistant Program in Newark, Delaware.  In 2019, he received the P. Jean Drew M.D. Award from the Drexel University Physician Assistant Program in recognition of alumni who integrate the highest levels of care and humanitarianism in their professional lives.  He is a member of Pi Alpha and has served in multiple positions in the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) including Chair of the PA Educator Competency Based Faculty Development Task Force and member of the Conference Council.  He has been active in international education as a visiting professor to the University of Pretoria Clinical Associate Programme in South Africa.  He has also served on the Board of Directors for the Delaware Academy of Physician Assistants, where he was active in modernizing the PA practice laws for the State of Delaware.

He began his medical career in 1993 as a vascular technologist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire where his research interests included ultrasound guidelines for carotid endarterectomy without angiography, ultrasound guided pseudo-aneurysm compression, and anterior compartment syndrome.  Professor Zaweski practiced clinically as a Physician Assistant in Emergency Medicine and Urgent Care from 2001 through 2016, where he also served as a clinical preceptor for PA students.

Professor Zaweski serves as associate editor for the textbook Physician Assistant:  A Guide to Clinical Practice.  He has published book chapters on physician assistant education and antibiotic references as well as articles for the Journal of Vascular Technology.  He has presented at local, state, and national conferences including the Physician Assistant Education Association Annual Forum.

Professor Zaweski’s educational and research interests include interprofessional education, simulation, international education, asynchronous education, competency based medical education, and professionalism.  His clinical areas of expertise are Emergency Medicine and Vascular Surgery.

Education

  • MPAS – University of Nebraska College of Medicine 2007
  • BS in PA – MCP Hahnemann University (Drexel) 2000
  • BGS – Louisiana State University 1991

Certifications

  • Board Certified as a Physician Assistant through NCCPA – 2000 to present

Areas of Specialization

  • Emergency Medicine
  • Vascular Surgery
  • Pulmonary Diseases
  • Cardiovascular Diseases
  • Simulation
  • Professionalism