Mary C. Burns, OTR/L, CHT
Professor, Division of Plastic Surgery
Education
September, 1978 - May 1, 1982
College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, Minnesota
Bachelor of Arts - Occupational Therapy
Clinical Experience




March, 1983 - April, 1987: Staff Occupational Therapist Memorial Medical Center
Rehabilitation Center Unit, Regional Burn Center, contract to Southern Illinois
University School of Medicine Hand Clinic, Springfield, Illinois
May, 1987 - July, 1989: Staff Occupational Therapist for J.W. Strickland, M.D., J.B.
Steichen, M.D., W.B. Kleinman, M.D., H. Hastings II, M.D., R. S. Idler, M.D., T.J.
Fischer, M.D., J.J. Creighton, M.D., Hand Surgery Associates and The Hand
Rehabilitation Center of Indiana, P.C., Indianapolis, Indiana
July, 1989 - June, 1991: Instructor of Clinical Surgery: Senior Hand Therapist, Southern
Illinois University School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic and
Reconstructive Surgery.
July, 1991 - Present: Assistant Professor to Department of Surgery: Senior Hand
Therapist, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Department of Surgery,
Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Licensure/Certification


Registered Occupational Therapist - January, 1983 - Present
 Licensed Occupational Therapist, State of Illinois-1985 to 1987, 1989 to Present
Certified Hand Therapist - May, 1991 to Present
Continuing Education






 "Hand Symposium", sponsored by Southern Illinois University School of Medicine,
Department of Surgery (March, 1983)
"Surgeries for the Quadriplegic Hand" presented by James Hill, M.D., (April, 1983)
Illinois Occupational Therapy Association Spring Conference, Springfield, Illinois (May,
1983)
"Therapeutic Milieu for the Chronic Pain Patient" (June, 1983)
"Head Injury: Life Shattered into Pieces" sponsored by the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Peoria, Illinois (October, 1983)
"Bobath Treatment Approach" AREN Teleconference (January, 1984)
A.O.T.A. National Conference, Kansas City, Missouri (May, 1984)



St. Paul Ramsey Medical Center, St. Paul, Minnesota - on site visit to Regional Burn
Center. Coordinator Elizabeth Rivers, R.N., OTR., Burn Specialist (July, 1984)
"NDT Treatment Techniques", Parts I & II, presented by Mark Gerberding, R.P.T.
(October, 1984)
 "Infection Control Management" presented by Regional Burn Center, Memorial Medical

Center, Springfield, Illinois (February, 1985)
 American Burn Association Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida (March, 1985)
"Management of the Upper Limb Amputee" sponsored by American Academy of
Orthotists and Prosthesists, Atlanta, Georgia. (November, 1985)
 American Burn Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois (April, 1986)
 "Hand Care '86: Clinical Techniques in Hand Rehabilitation" sponsored by the Hand
Rehabilitation Center of Indiana, P.C., endorsed by the American Society of Hand
Therapists, Indianapolis, Indiana (September, 1986)
 Hand Surgery Associates; Phoenix, Arizona - on site visit. Coordinator Margaret Carter,

OTR (November, 1986)
"Surgery and Rehabilitation of the Hand '87" sponsored by Hand Rehabilitation

Foundation and Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (March, 1987)
Weekly Burn Conference, Memorial Medical Center Regional Burn Center (January,

1984 - April, 1987)
Monthly Hand Conference, Division of Pastic Surgery, Southern Illinois University
School of Medicine (October, 1986 to April, 1987)
 Bimonthly Hand Therapy Meetings, The Hand Rehabilitation Center of Indiana, P.C.,
(May 1987 - June, 1989)
 Weekly Hand Therapy Review at The Hand Rehabilitation Center of Indiana, P.C. (May,


1987 - June, 1989)
Monthly Hand Conference, The Hand Rehabilitation Center of Indiana, P.C. (May, 1987
- June, 1989)
"Third Annual Indianapolis-Louisville-Cincinnati Meeting", Indianapolis, Indiana (May,

1987)
Joint Mobilization of the Hand and Wrist Workshop, presented by Christine Moran,
M.S., R.P.T. at the Hand Rehabilitation Center of Indiana, P.C. (November, 1987)
 "Hand Therapy Update 1989" sponsored by the American Society of Hand Therapists,
Orlando, Florida (May 5, 1989 - May 7, 1989)
 "Fifth Annual Indianapolis-Louisville-Cincinnati Meeting", Indianapolis, Indiana (May
12, 1989)
 "Hand Therapy Review Course", sponsored by American Society of Hand Therapists,
Los Angeles, California (March, 1990)
 "Difficult Problems in Hand Rehabilitation", sponsored by The American Society of

Hand Therapists, Phoenix, Arizona (November, 1990)
Monthly Hand Conference, Division of Plastic Surgery and Orthopeadic Surgery,
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (July, 1989 - Present)
 American Association of Hand Surgery (AAHS) Annual Meeting, Vancouver, British
Columbia (September, 1991)
 "Surgical Management of the Painful Nerve Injury" presented by Susan MacKinnon,
M.D., visiting professor to SIU School of Medicine, Department of Surgery. (November,
1991)



"Nerve Transplantation" Presented by Susan MacKinnon, M.D., visiting professor to SIU
School of Medicine, Department of Surgery (November 2, 1991)
American Association of Hand Surgery (AAHS) Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C.
(September, 1992)
 American Society of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (ASPRS) Annual Meeting,
Washington, D.C. (September, 1992)
 American Society of Hand Therapists, 15th Annual Conference, Phoenix, Arizona
(November, 1992)
 Upper Extremity Compression Neuropathies, presented by Susan Mackinnon, Kansas
City, MO (September, 1993)
 Michael B. Wood, M.D., Neuritic Pain Syndrome of Upper Extremity, Ulnar Sided Wrist
Pain, Visiting Professor to SIU School of Medicine (October 29, 1993)
 Coding Seminar - presented by Karen Zupko and Associates (July 1994)
 American Society of Hand Therapists, 17th Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C.

(September, 1994)
"Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy", presented by Wyndell Merritt, M.D., Visiting Professor
 to SIU School of Medicine (April 14 & 15, 1995)
"The Elbow", sponsored by American Society of Hand Therapists, Orlando, Florida.
(January 12 - 14, 1996)
 Valpar International Corporation training session, Springfield, Illinois (April 30, 1996)
 "Tendons: Old Problems. . . New Solutions", Preconference Hand Therapy Seminar,
American Association for Hand Surgery, 28th Annual Meeting, Scottsdale, AZ (January
7, 1998)
 American Association for Hand Surgery, 28th Annual Meeting, Scottsdale, Arizona




(January 8-10, 1998)
"Burn Reconstruction - The Areas We Don't Talk About" presented by David J. Smith,
Jr. M.D., Visiting Professor to SIU School of Medicine (January 16, 1998)
Evaluation and Management of Wrist Injuries, presented by Ken Flowers, P.T.,CHT. SIU
School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois (April 9 & 10, 1999)
Elbow and Forearm Injuries, presented by Dr. Robert Hotchkiss, M.D. visiting professor to SIU School of Medicine, Division of orthopaedics and Rehabilitation (June 1999)
American Society of Hand Therapists, 22nd Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida
(September 1999)
Presentations
 "Splinting the Burn Patient", presented at Illinois Occupational Therapy Association
Spring Conference, Springfield, Illinois (May, 1983)
 "Adaptive Equipment and Communication Devices for the ALS Patient", presented to the


Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Society at the Southern Illinois University School of
Medicine (July, 1983)
"Burn Splinting and Positioning" presented to Occupational Therapy Department,
Memorial Medical Center (January, 1985)
"Management of Neuromuscular Deficits in the Burned Hand" - co-moderator for Sunrise
Symposia, American Burn Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois (April, 1986)



"Management of the Upper Limb Amputee" presented to Occupational Therapy
Department, Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, Illinois (January, 1986)
"Upper Extremity Prosthetics" presented at Therapists Weekly Review, Hand
Rehabilitation Center of Indiana, P.C. (July, 1987)
 "Prosthetic Management of the Upper Limb Deficient Child", presented at Monthly Hand
Conference, Hand Rehabilitation Center of Indiana, P.C., (April, 1988)
 "Upper Extremity Prosthetics Workshop" presented at Hand Care '88: Clinical Technique in Hand Rehabilitation sponsored by the Hand Rehabilitation Center of Indiana, P.C., endorsed by the American Society of Hand Therapists, Indianapolis, Indiana (November,
1988)
 "Anatomy of Upper Extremity Nerve Compression Syndromes: Cadaver Labs" presented at Hand Care '88: Clinical Techniques in Hand Rehabilitation Center of Indiana, P.C., endorsed by the American Society of Hand Therapists, Indianapolis, Indiana (November,
1988)
 "Modalities for the Hand Clinic Workshop" presented at Hand Care '88: Clinical
Techniques in Hand Rehabilitation sponsored by the Hand Rehabilitation Center of
Indiana, P.C., endorsed by the American Society of Hand Therapists, Indianapolis,
Indiana, (November, 1988)
 "Hand Therapy as a Specialty" presented at the Annual Mimi Covert Memorial Lecture,
Springfield, Illinois (August, 1989)
 "Principles of Hand Splinting" presented at Orthopaedic Fracture Conference, Southern

Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois (July, 1990)
"Management of the Burned Hand" - Instructional course presented at American


Association of Hand Surgery Annual Meeting, Vancouver, British Columbia (September,
1991)
"Management of the Burned Hand" - Instructional course presented at American
Association of Hand Surgery Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. (September, 1992)
Author of "Rehabilitation of the Burned Hand" - manuscript outline and slides presented
 at Regional Review Courses for Hand Therapy (June, 1995)
Author of Extensor Tendons" - manuscript outline and slides presented at Regional
Review Courses for Hand Therapy in (June, 1995)
 Annual Residents Lecture on Hand Therapy, SIU School of Medicine, Division of Plastic
Surgery and Orthopeadic Surgery (July 1, 1999)
 Splinting: Shortcuts and innovative ideas - Moderator at networking luncheon, American

Society of Hand Therapists 22nd Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida (September, 1999)
Residents orientation, SIU School of Medicine, Division of Plastic Surgery (July 3, 2000)
Research Involvement/Publications
1.
Zamboni, W.A., Cassidy, M.
, Eriksson, E., "Hand Burns in Children Under Age 5", presented by Dr. William Zamboni at 1986 American Burn Association Annual Meeting,
Chicago, Illinois. Published: Burns Inc. Therm. Inj. (6): 476-483, 1987.
2.
"Median and Ulnar Nerve Function Following Electrical Injury", presented at 1986
American Burn Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois by Jeff Higgs, Medical
Photographer for SIU School of Medicine, Department of Surgery.

3.
"Replantation vs. Traumatic Amputation:" Psychological Adjustment and Functional
Assessment. Ongoing research with Dr. Reid Hansen and the Division of Plastic Surgery,
SIU School of Medicine.
4.
"Rehabilitation of the Burned Hand", co-authored with John O. Kucan, M.D., submitted for publication, March, 1992.
5.
"Clinical Motor Function Testing - Upper Extremity", Robert C. Russell, M.D., Jurgen
Hussmann, M.D., Mary C. Burns, OTR/L, CHT . Chapter 5 in Management of
Peripheral Nerve Problems, 2nd Edition W.B. Saunders Comp. Editors: George E. Omer,
Jr. M.D., Allen L. VanBeek, M.D. Copyright 1998
Professional Organizations
 American Occupational Therapy Association (1983 - 1989)
 Illinois Occupational Therapy Association (1984 - 1986)


American Burn Association (1985 - 1988)
 American Society of Hand Therapists (1991 - Present)
American Association for Hand Surgery (1995 - Present)
Special Projects






Development and implementation of occupational therapy pulmonary program, Memorial
Medical Center, Springfield, Illinois (1984)
Organized display and presentation of occupational therapy involvement with the burn patient during National Burn Awareness Week (1986)
Involvement in development and implementation of the upper extremity prosthetics program at the Hand Rehabilitation Center of Indiana, P.C., (1987, 1988)
Coordinator for planning Faculty Recognition Dinner for Hand Care '88 Clinical
Techniques in Hand Rehabilitation sponsored by the Hand Rehabilitation Center of
Indiana, P.C., Indianapolis, Indiana (November, 1988)
Difficult Case Presentation Coordinator for the Hand Rehabilitation Center of Indiana,
P.C. (July, 1988 - July, 1989)
Guest Coordinator for the Hand Rehabilitation Center of Indiana, P.C. (January, 1989 -
July, 1989)