Dr John Thomas (Tom) Murphy graduated from Dalhousie University Medical School (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) in 1978. He completed a rotating internship followed by a 4 years of post-graduate training at Dalhousie University in Anaesthesia,.He successfully completed written and oral examinations in the specialty and was named a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians Canada ( FRCPC - subspecialty board certification). Dr Murphy was appointed to the Department of Anaesthesia at the Victoria General Hospital in September 1983. With the support of a post-graduate scholarship from Dalhousie University School of Medicine Dr Murphy applied and was accepted as Senior Registrar in Cardiac Anaesthesia at Royal Perth Hospital in Perth Western Australia. The 12-month post-specialty fellowship training at Royal Perth Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) was followed by a locum tenens position at PMH (a hospital for children). Upon his return to Halifax, Canada in mid 1985 Dr Murphy resumed his clinical appointment at the Victori General Hospital Maritime Heart Center and Dalhousie University. In 1994 Dr Murphy accepted a position at the King Fahd National Guard Hospital (KFNGH) n Riyadh, Kingdon of Saudi Arabia, where he was the lead anesthesiologist and Division Head of Cardiac Anesthesia. He was trained in transesophageal echocardiography with the support of the Department of Cardiology, adding a new skill to his clinical portfolio. Dr Murphy was awarded a Diploma in Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography by examination (National Board of Echocardiography USA) in 2001. Dr Murphy was the lead pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist at KFNGH.

After seven years in Riyadh KSA, Dr Murphy joined the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Kentucky as Associate Professor.(January 2002). His primary appointment was in Adult and Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesia. He was appointed Division Chief of Cardiac Anesthesia in 2004 and remained in that position for 17 years. Promotion to Full Professor (Clinical Title Series) took place in 2008. In ensuing years Dr Murphy transitioned to clinical concentration to Adult Cardiac and Thoracic anesthesia and was the lead anesthesiologist for robotic mitral valve surgery at the University of Kentucky.

In 2014 Dr Murphy became certified in Addiction Medicine and shared his knowledge and expertise with his primary Department. In 2017 he accepted a part-time faculty/research position at First Bridge Clinic (University of Kentucky). He attended clinic and provided clinical care and management of patients with opioid use disorder and other addictions. He was awarded lifetime certification in Addiction Medicine by the American Board of Addiction Medicine.in 2022.

In addition to clinical supervision of residents in anesthesiology and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Dr Murphy has been an educator of Registered Nurses and medical students.

Research and scholarly activity has included authorship of review articles, book chapters, abstracts, presentations at national societies. Dr Murphy and co-workers have completed a recent clinical study comparing buprenorphine and fentanyl in cardiac surgery patients and are in the process of analyzing data with the support of a grant from the Center for Clinical and Translational Science, University of Kentucky.

D; Murphy maintains an interest in clinical monitoring in anesthesia; currently he is the Departmental champion for quantitative monitoring of neuromuscular blockade and reversal. His pe-appointment as Professor of Anesthesiology and Associate Professor of Pediatrics as of July 1, 2026 predicts commitment of another year of clinical care, education and research at the University of Kentucky.