[2] 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.

Just four years after its establishment, Duke was ranked among the top 20 medical schools in the country by the AAMC.

[17] Admission to the school's medical degree program is highly competitive, with more than 7,500 applicants for approximately 115 openings each year.

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.

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[19] and Doctor of Physical Therapy programs, a Primary Care Leadership Track,[20] Master of Biomedical Sciences, MS and PhD in Biostatistics, and Master of Management in Clinical Informatics.