Dr. Peter Bidey has served on the faculty since 2012. Since 2018, he has acted as vice chair (and previously, medical director) of the Department of Family Medicine, and most recently, as assistant dean of clinical curricular integration. He is a clerkship director and co-course director for myriad ambulatory, family medicine, and primary care skills courses.
He is on staff at Main Line Health – Lankenau Medical Center. He previously served as an attending physician, as director of medical education and as program director of the PCOM/Suburban Community Hospital Family Medicine Residency at Suburban Community Hospital in Norristown.
Dr. Bidey serves as president of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Family Physicians Society (POFPS). He sits on the Board of Governors of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) and acts as department chair of various ACOFP committees. He also chairs the NBOME Clinical Decision-Making and Key Features Content Committee. He is a member of ACOFP, POFPS, the American Osteopathic Association, and the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association. At PCOM, he is a member of the Student Professional Conduct Committee and faculty advisor to the PCOM Student Chapter of ACOFP and the PCOM Student Chapter of Primary Care Progress.
Dr. Bidey holds a bachelor's degree from Duquesne University, a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from PCOM, and a master of science in education degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Board-certified by the AOBFP in family medicine and OMT, he is a fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians.
Some people think of the first generation as the first generation to go to college, or the first generation to go to graduate school, or the first generation to go to medical school, or you insert anything in there. I think the first generation is individual to the people and where they come from. When I was even asked about this, they said, are you first gen? I said, well, my dad was the first generation with his brother to go to college, so I'm not a first-generation college student, but I'm a first-generation medical student for my immediate family as things go.
I really enjoyed medical school. I tell students all the time that you're entering a different world, and for many people, this is a world that you might not be accustomed to, and you might not have others that are not accustomed to it as well. I didn't have a lot of physician connections when I started, I had to forge my way. One unique thing about this is, one, you start forming your own family. My friends that I met did not have a-lot of people to rely on either, so we stuck together. I also interacted with people that were not first gen. I love PCOM because it is one big PCOM family. The people I met became my PCOM family. The second unique thing about my journey was meeting really good mentors. Dr. Becker and Dr. Kuo are good mentors of mine. It is important to keep making new ones. Dr. Sesso is also a mentor of mine now, and I didn't have to interact with him very much as an undergraduate. Take these things and build upon it. My journey was nice, because I literally decided I wanted to do family medicine after meeting Dr. Becker at the hospital one day. I was open to opportunities, which worked well for me.
I always say that when you think about interacting with people, there's time and knowledge. When you're dealing with someone that might not have as many people around them that understand exactly what they're going through, it’s very hard. Sometimes it’s more troublesome to explain it, because you are trying not to think about the things stressing you out, but now you've got to explain it to somebody, and it stresses you out even more. I did that often with my parents as things went. I realized that you don't, just because we're not talking medicine doesn't mean you're not learning life. Whether you're a first-generation medical student, college student, high school student, whatever, there are things that will occur. Learn from the people around you. Just because you have a title or X amount of letters before or after your name, means very little in those aspects of things. Learning from people will make you a better doctor. It's going to make you a better educator. It's going to make you, hopefully, a better mentor later on.
One thing I realized is that whether you're a first-generation student or anybody in medical school, you're achieving something that others haven't, so it can be lonely. I like the quote from The Great Gatsby, “there's like a green light somewhere that you're searching for.” As a medical student, there is fog, buildings, financial constraints, and other things in front of you. Ultimately, what you end up doing will be amazing, as long as you keep that vision in your head.
Find a mentor, no matter who that person may be. Mentors hold you accountable, and can help you in times of need. Never be afraid to ask for anything because it will never hurt. The worst that can happen is that somebody says no, but at least you asked, and put yourself out there to do it. Also, don't forget to give back. I wouldn't be in the position I am today without people pulling me through, watching over me, and helping me. They didn't have to help, they just did. The whole purpose is creating a community, and I think that's what is so unique about PCOM. PCOM is one giant community.
I am in a new role, I'm the dean of the medical school, and it is pretty awesome. I never though I’d ever be in this role. I don't think anybody who was my classmate would think, oh Pete's going to be the dean. This role is awesome and it is important to me. I've had moments where a student pulls me aside and says, you know, when you did this, it really mattered to me. I’ve had students say, I know you don't realize this, but it really was helpful when you did this. Those moments are small energy bolts that make you think like, holy crap, this is why I'm doing these types of things. There are times when celebrating the achievements is necessary, but impacting the lives of others is what matters to me the most. Those are my proudest moments.
The Office of Diversity and Community Relations celebrates the unique accomplishments of first generation students. This series features PCOM faculty, staff and students who were the first to attend college, graduate school or medical school within their families. We believe spotlighting our first generation community members will encourage our students to use their talents to shine during professional school and as future healthcare providers.
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