BSc Manch 1939, MB ChB 1942, MD 1948.
After qualifying, Coburn was house physician at MRI before being drafted into the RAF and serving until 1945. During the war he became interested in dermatology, and when he returned he became assistant dermatologist at Manchester and Salford Hospital for Skin Diseases and Warrington Infirmary. Coburn became consultant dermatologist to a number of hospitals in the area, including Manchester and Salford Hospital for Skin Diseases, Crumpsall Hospital, Booth Hall Children's Hospital, Monsall Hospitall and Rochdale and District Hospital Groups. Coburn was also a lecturer in dermatological histology at the University of Manchester. Coburn was a member of the North of England Dermatological Society from 1947 and was elected an honorary fellow of the Society of Chiropodists.