Since completing his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 1996, he has concentrated his clinical care, teaching and research on SCI and associated disorders. He provides patient care on the SCI Unit at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, Washington. He serves as a member of the Residency Training Committee, and he directs the Advanced SCI Medicine Fellowship at VA Puget Sound Health Care System. Dr. Burns serves as Chair on the American Spinal Injury Association committee that develops standards for neurological classification of SCI. He has served on two Clinical Practice Guideline development committees for the Consortium for Spinal Cord Medicine.