The Duke University School of Medicine, commonly known as Duke Med, is the medical school of Duke University. It was established in 1925 by James B. Duke. The School of Medicine, along with the Duke University School of Nursing, Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, Duke Children's Hospital, Duke Raleigh Hospital, and other affiliated hospitals, clinics, and laboratories, make up the Duke University Health System. Clinical rotations by medical students and residents occur within the Duke University Health System, a fully integrated academic health care system encompassing a tertiary-care hospital and specialty clinics on the Medical Center campus, two community hospitals, a VA hospital, home health and hospice services, a network of primary care physicians, and other affiliated partners across the SE United States.

History

The idea of establishing a medical school at the current site dates back as far as 1891, when John Franklin Crowell, the president of Trinity College as it was known at the time, first announced a public plan to establish a school of medicine. In 1924, James B. Duke established the Duke Endowment and directed $40 million to Trinity College to become Duke University. The following year, he made an additional request to establish the Duke School of Medicine, Duke School of Nursing, and Duke Hospital, with the goal of improving health care in the Carolinas and nationwide. Three thousand applicants applied to the new medical school in 1929 and 70 first- and third-year students were selected, including four women, for the School's inaugural class. Just four years after its establishment, Duke was ranked among the top 20 medical schools in the country by the AAMC. Timeline of select research and patient care milestones

Rankings and admissions

Duke University School of Medicine is recognised as one of the best medical schools in the United States and the world. It is currently ranked #3 in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report's rankings for best research medical schools in 2022. Several Duke programs are ranked as some of the highest in the country. Top-ten nationally ranked programs for 2022 include surgery (ranked #2), anesthesia (ranked #4), internal medicine (ranked #5), radiology (ranked #6), pediatrics (ranked #7), obstetrics/gynecology (ranked #8), and psychiatry (ranked #10). Historically, the Duke University School of Medicine consistently ranks in the top ten medical schools in the United States. Admission to the school's medical degree program is highly competitive, with more than 7,500 applicants for approximately 115 openings each year. The school ranks very highly among its peers in the diversity of its medical students. Among the draws of the program is its unique curriculum, which gives students contact with patients a year earlier than at most other medical schools and includes an entire year devoted to independent research. Many students use the year to begin studies toward a second degree; nearly one-quarter earn a PhD, Master of Science in Global Health (MScGH), MBA, JD, or master's degree in addition to an MD. About 19.5 percent are enrolled in Duke's Medical Scientist Training Program, which leads to both an MD and a PhD in health-related basic biomedical or social science research. Created to train highly qualified students as physician-scientists, the Duke program is the fourth oldest in the country, has been continuously funded by the NIH for almost 50 years, and is highly regarded nationally. Duke University School of Medicine also includes PhD programs in the basic sciences and education and training programs in other health professions, including the top-ranked Physician Assistant and Doctor of Physical Therapy programs, a Primary Care Leadership Track, Master of Biomedical Sciences, MS and PhD in Biostatistics, and Master of Management in Clinical Informatics.

Collaboration with the National University of Singapore

Duke opened a medical school collaboration with the National University of Singapore. The Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School graduated their first class in 2011. The curriculum is similar in structure though the Duke-NUS campus focuses heavily on their team-based learning method called TeamLEAD (Learn, Engage, Apply, Develop).

Affiliated research institutions

Notable faculty and alumni