The Burn Survivor Perspective

Abstract

The burn survivor's perspective is critical in helping focus the priorities for burn research during the next 10 years. The goal of medical science is to improve outcomes and the lives of those we serve. As individuals who have experienced a burn injury, burn survivors can provide an important and unique perspective. There have been numerous advances in burn care and, as was discussed in the first 2 days of this State of the Science conference, there is a lot of work yet to be done. Each of us has tremendous respect and gratitude toward the burn team, and the following comments are made with the goal of improving care for current and future burn survivors. Real progress can happen if we work together to develop the goals, knowledge base, and then ultimately implement the available and proven interventions as a standard of care. The purpose of the burn survivor panel discussion was to provide a personal perspective of the priorities in burn care research. The collective burn survivor community is a wealth of information—if we listen. Both Erin Mounsey and Chris Gilyard are burn survivors with a point of view that will help demonstrate some common themes we hear across the country at the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors. They are two individuals burned some 20 plus years apart and both believe that psychosocial rehabilitation of patients should be the priority in patient care and thus the priority for research.