Dr. Jeffrey Carter Advances Burn Education and Research in South Korea
Jeffrey Carter, MD, recently traveled to the Republic of Korea (ROK) as part of the
Burns for Providers Program (BP2), a Department of Defense–funded burn education and research initiative supported
by the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC). (Image, right: LTC (Ret.) Mario A. Rivera‑Barbosa (left) and Dr. Jeffrey Carter (right)
evaluate hands‑on burn care skills demonstrated by volunteer military healthcare providers
participating in the BP2 Construct Validity study.)
While in South Korea, Dr. Carter and his team conducted on‑site data collection for
an ongoing construct validity study evaluating BP2’s educational and assessment tools.
Military healthcare personnel stationed at USAG Yongsan‑Casey and USAG Humphreys volunteered
as research participants, completing standardized assessments using BP2’s mobile learning
platform and hands‑on burn wound simulators. These data will help determine whether
BP2 accurately measures clinical decision‑making and technical skills across varying
levels of burn care experience. (Image, above left: Volunteer military healthcare providers test their clinical decision‑making
using tablet‑based virtual burn care scenarios as part of BP2 Construct Validity research
data collection. )
In addition to the research mission, Dr. Carter and Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Mario Rivera taught two Advanced Burn Life Support (ABLS) courses to U.S. military medical personnel. These courses represented the first and second times ABLS has ever been taught in the Republic of Korea, expanding access to this critical burn care training for deployed providers.
BP2 Sub‑Investigator Dr. James Johnson, a long‑time academic collaborator of Dr. Carter,
joined LTC Rivera in leading focused training sessions for U.S. Army 68‑series combat
medics, emphasizing battlefield‑relevant trauma and burn injuries and the stabilization
and initial treatment interventions medics may be required to perform in austere environments.
(Image, right: LTC (Ret.) Rivera and Dr. James Johnson conduct a hands‑on burn wound
education demonstration for enlisted Republic of Korea Army personnel.)
The team also worked alongside military medical units during a large field training
exercise, allowing both research activities and education efforts to take place within
a realistic operational setting. (Image, left: Dr. Carter leads a discussion on initial assessment and management of
burn injuries during the first‑ever Advanced Burn Life Support course held in the
Republic of Korea.)
This work highlights LSUHSC-NO’s leadership in federally funded, high‑impact clinical education research and demonstrates the global reach of our faculty’s expertise. Conducting rigorous validation studies while simultaneously delivering frontline military medical training underscores the school's role as a trusted academic partner to the Department of War and advances our mission to improve trauma and burn care for both military and civilian populations. (Image, below: LTC (Ret.) Rivera and Dr. Johnson provide classroom instruction to U.S. Army 68‑series combat medics on battlefield‑relevant trauma and burn injury management.)
