Dr. Harter graduated from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1975. He completed a general surgery residency and surgical research fellowship from New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center from 1975 to 1982. He completed a plastic surgery residency from Duke University Medical Center in 1984 and served as a Christine M. Kleinert Hand Fellow in 1983.

Dr. Harter was certified by the American Board of Surgery in 1984 and the American Board of Plastic Surgery in 1986. He received added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand in 1989 and 1998.

Currently, Dr. Harter is an assistant clinical professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery with the University of Louisville and has served as past president of the Jefferson County Medical Society. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and is a member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.