John Killpack graduated from BYU in August 1993. He worked in the float pool at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center (UVRMC) following graduation. He was then commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps in April 1994 and was stationed at Wilford Hall Medical Center on Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas in the Coronary Care Unit. While stationed in Texas, he also taught Basic and Advanced EKG Interpretation, Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump Course and Critical Care Course and was an ACLS Instructor.
John attended the Graduate School of Nursing - Nurse Anesthesia at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, Maryland. He was a charter member of the Honor Society, a precursor to Sigma Theta Tau chapter. After Graduation in October 1998, John became a Staff Nurse Anesthetist at Malcom Grow Med Center, Andrews AFB, Maryland. He served as Adjunct Clinical Faculty and Guest Lecturer, USUHS-Graduate School of Nursing as well as clinical instructor for USUHS Medical School anesthesia rotation.
After working at Malcom Grow MC, he became part of a multi-disciplinary team that opened the Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills (CSTARS) out of the University of Maryland - Baltimore (RA Cowley Shock-Trauma Center). There he became the Director of Anesthesia Services with a mission to bring in post-graduate Air Force Medical teams to provide didactic and clinical trauma management refresher courses as well as develop and demonstrate extreme location medical care. John was part of a five person team that could deploy on 15 minute notice to provide ER, ICU and surgical capability for 10 critical or 20 acute patients, with necessary equipment contained in five portable backpacks. He was able to respond to New York City/McGuire AFB the evening of September 11, 2001, prepared to provide critical care services. At CSTARS, he was a TNCC instructor, adjunct clinical and didactic faculty for the University of Maryland Graduate School of Nursing and USUHS Graduate School of Nursing. He was also awarded the Company Grade Nurse of the Quarter and Year in 2002.
Killpack left the Air Force in May 2004 as a Major and moved to Cedar City, UT where he works as a nurse anesthetist based out of Valley View Medical Center as well as two surgical centers. He served as the past president of Cedar Anesthesia Group, the Chair Elect of the Utah State Board of Nursing, and as Adjunct Faculty to Southern Utah University School of Nursing and Westminster College’s Graduate School of Nursing-Nurse Anesthesia.
He is the father of 4 children ages 14-20 years old.