5 Questions with our Trauma Medical Director

Newly transplanted from Memphis, TN, Thomas Schroeppel, M.D. lets us peek into his world and what brought him to Colorado Springs. 

What are you doing now and what’s next?  I am the Trauma Medical Director at UCHealth Memorial Hospital.  This is a compilation of tasks including running the trauma service, peer review, outreach, and clinical research.  I also participate in teaching surgical residents and students on the trauma service. 

I am nearly finished with a Master’s degree in Clinical Research that I started prior to moving from Memphis.  Projected graduation is December of this year.  My graduation project/thesis is a randomized trial in Traumatic Brain Injury patients comparing propranolol to no beta-blocker funded by an institutional grant from the Institute for Research Innovation Synergy and Health Equity (iRISE) at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN.

What was your journey like to get where you are now?  Good question.  4 years at Boston College.  4 Years at the University of Minnesota Medical School.  5 years in General Surgery residency in La Crosse, WI at the Gundersen Clinic.  2 years in fellowship for Trauma/Surgical Critical Care at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis.  Faculty appointment for the last 10 years finishing as Associate Professor of Surgery with Tenure at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN.  In several words, long and winding…

In one word, how would you describe yourself?   Eccentric

What do you do in your spare time? I dabble in oenology, the study of wines and wine making, and culinary pursuits. 

What would be your dream job if you could do anything in the world?   Trauma Surgery and Surgical Critical Care….glad I chose wisely!