Rate My Professor Bracken Burns

J. Bracken Burns Jr., DO, FACS, FACOS, is a Professor in the Department of Surgery and serves as Division Chief of Acute Care Surgery at the James H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University. He holds board certifications in General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care from the American Osteopathic Board of Surgery. Dr. Burns received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 2001. He completed an osteopathic internship followed by a residency in General Surgery at Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Doctors Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, spanning 2001 to 2006. Subsequently, he pursued a fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, The University Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio, from 2006 to 2007. Earlier in his academic journey, Dr. Burns earned a Master of Science in Physiology from Ball State University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, double-majoring in Arts and Letters Pre-professional Studies and Anthropology.

Dr. Burns is also the Trauma Medical Director at Johnson City Medical Center and maintains professional affiliations with several institutions, including the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Mountain Home, Tennessee; Laughlin Memorial Hospital in Greeneville, Tennessee; Franklin Woods Community Hospital and Holston Valley Medical Center in Johnson City and Kingsport, Tennessee, respectively. His key areas of interest include trauma care, surgical critical care, pre-hospital care, resident education, medical student education, and disaster management. Active in scholarly pursuits, Dr. Burns has co-authored multiple publications in peer-reviewed journals addressing critical topics in trauma and surgery. Notable works include "Early Autonomy May Contribute to an Increase in the General Surgery Residency Match Rates" (2020), "Hemorrhagic Anuria With Acute Kidney Injury After a Single Lap Belt Restraint Injury" (2020), "Traumatic Adrenal Hemorrhage Masking as a Pseudotumor" (2020), "Controlled Substance Use and Clinical Outcomes of Elderly Trauma Patients" (2022), "A Comparison of Injury Severity Score and Disposition Between Pediatric and Adult Trauma Patients" (2022), and "Impact of COVID-19 on the Intestinal Microbiome" (2021). Through his research and leadership roles, Dr. Burns contributes significantly to improving trauma outcomes and training the next generation of surgeons in the Appalachian region.