Class of 1970 Commemorative Biographical Book

R O D G E R S T E E P E R

Address: 127 Calico Trail, Durango, CO 81301 Email: rodger.steeper@gmail.com ● Phone: C: 303-947-6019

Alma mater: Oberlin College

Postgraduate Training/Certification: Internal Medicine Internship and Residency: UCLA Current Employment: Retired. Last six years of career worked in various VA primary care clinics, most recently in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Spouse or Partner’s Name: Karen Steeper

Narrative: What was your most memorable moment from medical school? Presenting student research findings at Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology annual meeting in Atlantic City. What highlights have you experienced since graduating in 1970? Running house staff morning report at Presbyterian Hospital in Denver for many years; working for four years as an internal medicine consultant for the national health service in New Zealand; travelling the world by bicycle since retirement. If so inclined, please feel free to share your passions, family stories, life experiences or even simple words of wisdom. Through my career I have strived to maintain the medical curiosity developed in medical school to keep abreast of new medical knowledge and to evaluate it critically. This was enhanced by my medical teaching activities and by the fact that I practiced general inpatient and outpatient internal medicine requiring up to date knowledge in all areas of medicine. This became harder throughout my career as the demands of hospital corporations, insurance companies and government regulation took a larger and larger toll on my time for patient care and learning. This culminated in my leaving the country in 2006 to work in the New Zealand health care system where a single payer system and lack of onerous documentation requirements provided a much more relaxed and pleasant work experience. I am fortunate to have maintained good health and fitness into retirement in 2016 to be able to enjoy hiking, cycling, and skiing in our new Rocky Mountain environment of Durango, Colorado.

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