Burn Care – (M.Sc.)

Two year part-time distance learning programme (Subject to approval)

The clinical care of burn patients in the UK and Western healthcare services has developed significantly, particularly over the last decade based on: a better understanding of the pathophysiology of the burn wound and its systemic consequences, improvements in critical care, and advances in skin tissue engineering, burn rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Early near-total burn wound excision is becoming the gold-standard approach to large burn injury and the choice between this and serial wound excision demands specific understanding, resources, and skills. Novel tissue engineered products improve the morbidity of small injuries, particularly in children, and have transformed burn scar reconstruction. These again require specific understanding and skills.

There remains a vast range of practice around the world, and this innovative WebCT-based diploma fills a void in burn care education recognized by both the British Burn Association [BBA], and the International Society of Burn Injury [ISBI]. The Clinical Academic Unit of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery has established the Southeast of England Burn Injury Research Network [BIRN] bringing together basic scientists and physicians to improve burn care services, specifically including education.

The overall aim is to provide the didactic skeleton for excellent burn care to physicians and surgeons practicing within the multidisciplinary burn team environment.