Essay Topics (2024 - 2025)

‍Share with us your story. This is your opportunity to allow us to know how you wish to be addressed, recognized and treated. (500 Words)

1. Trust and rapport are essential in your day-to-day interactions with people. How do you cultivate a relationship with a person who may be very different from you? (400 words)

2. Describe a situation in which you chose to advocate for someone who was different from you or for a cause or idea that was different from yours. Define your view of advocacy. What risks, if any, might be associated with your choice to be an advocate? (400 words)

3. Not achieving a goal or one’s desire can sometimes be disheartening. What have you discovered from your setbacks and disappointments and how does this translate to your current way of thinking? (400 words)

4. What do you value most as a leader and as a contributor? What attributes do you possess as a leader and as a team member and how do you apply them on a daily basis? (400 words)

5. Critical thinking involves a number of characteristics. Research experience enhances critical analysis skills. Describe any research experience or similar experience in which you utilized critical thinking. How will critical thinking be important in your future career? (400 words)

6. Potential sources of health inequities exist. Duke’s Moments to Movement (M2M) is a collective stand to address these issues. Discuss your experience with disparities in health, health care and society. (400 words)

7. Your career in medicine may place increasing demands for your time. While in medical school, how will you balance your educational commitment and your outside interests? (400 words)

"Additional Considerations " (Optional)

Please let us know of any additional information that you would like us to consider while reviewing your application. (No word limit)

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Essay Topics ('23 - '24)

1. Tell us Who You Are: Share with us your story. This is your opportunity to allow us to know how you wish to be addressed, recognized and treated. (500 words)

2. Working with Others: Trust and rapport are essential in your day-to-day interactions with people. How do you cultivate a relationship with a person who may be very different from you? (400 words)

3. Advocacy: Describe a situation in which you chose to advocate for someone who was different from you or for a cause or idea that was different from yours. Define your view of advocacy. What risks, if any, might be associated with your choice to be an advocate? (400 words)

4. Coping with Disappointment: Not achieving a goal or one’s desire can sometimes be disheartening. What have you discovered from your setbacks and disappointments and how does this translate to your current way of thinking? (400 words)

5. Leadership: What do you value most as a leader and as a contributor? What attributes do you possess as a leader and as a team member and how do you apply them on a daily basis? (400 words)

6. Critical Thinking: Critical thinking involves a number of characteristics. Research experience enhances critical analysis skills. Describe any research experience or similar experience in which you utilized critical thinking. How will critical thinking be important in your future career? (400 words)

7. Understanding the Need for Healthcare Changes: Potential sources of health inequities exist. Duke’s Moments to Movement (M2M) is a collective stand to address these issues. Discuss your experience with disparities in health, health care and society. (400 words)

8. COVID-19 Implications: How has the COVID-19 pandemic influenced your journey to medical school? Have these events changed your outlook on medicine’s role in society? (400 words)

9. Further Information: Please let us know of any additional information that you would like us to consider while reviewing your application

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Essay Topics ('22 - '23)

Advocacy

‍Describe a situation in which you chose to advocate for someone who was different from you or for a cause or idea that was different from yours. Define your view of advocacy. What risks, if any, might be associated with your choice to be an advocate? (400 words)

‍Coping with Disappointment

‍Not achieving a goal or one’s desire can sometimes be disheartening. What have you learned/gained from your setbacks and disappointments and how does this translate to your current way of thinking? (400 words)

‍Value Systems

‍Describe a situation in which you had to utilize your values to interact with people from different backgrounds. How did those values impact the relationship? (400 words)

‍Leadership

‍Leadership, teamwork, and communication flow synergistically. What do you value most as a leader and as a contributor? What attributes do you possess as a leader and as a team member and how do you apply them on a daily basis? (400 words)

‍Critical Thinking

‍Critical thinking involves a number of characteristics. Research experience enhances critical analysis skills. Describe any research experience or another situation in which you utilized critical thinking. How will critical thinking be important in your future career? (400 words)

‍Understanding the Need for Health Care Changes

‍Potential sources of health inequities exist. Duke’s Moments to Movement (M2M) is a collective stand to address these issues. Describe your experience and reflection with race and its relationship to disparities in health, health care and society. Consider the values of justice, diversity, inclusion and equity (400 words)

‍COVID-19 Implications

‍How has the COVID-19 pandemic influenced your journey to medical school? Have these events changed your outlook on medicine’s role in society? (400 words)

‍Tell Us Who You Are

‍Tell us more about who you are. This is your opportunity to tell us how you wish to be addressed, recognized and treated. (500 words)

‍Race/Ethnicity/Geographic Origin/Socioeconomic Status/ Advantage/Disadvantage/ Religious Affiliation

‍Use the text box below to provide additional information on how these parameters have/will influence you.(Optional, 200 words)

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‍For PCLT (Primary Care Leadership Track) applicants:

Community Engagement

‍PCLT values community engagement. What is your understanding of community engagement and its value? How does community-engagement impact either research or working in a community to improve health outcomes? (250 words)

‍Why PCLT

‍What distinguishes you from other applicants to the PCLT program? (250 words)

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Essay Topics ('21 – '22)‍

1. Tell us more about who you are. You may provide additional information that expands your self-identity where gender identification, racial and/or ethnic self description, geographic origin, socioeconomic, academic, and/or other characteristics that define who you are as you contemplate a career that will interface with people who are similar AND dissimilar to you. You will have the opportunity below to tell us how you wish to be addressed, recognized and treated. (500 words)

2. Describe a situation in which you chose to advocate for someone who was different from you or for a cause or idea that was different from yours. Define advocacy as you view it. What risks, if any, might be associated with your choice to be an advocate? (400 words)

3. Not achieving a goal or one’s desire can sometimes be disheartening. What have you learned/gained from your setbacks and disappointments and how does this translate to your current way of thinking? (400 words)

4. What has been your most humbling experience and how will that experience affect your interactions with your peers and patients? (400 words)

5. Leadership, teamwork, and communication flow synergistically. What do you value most as a leader and as a contributor? What attributes do you possess as a leader and as a team member and how do you apply them on a daily basis? (400 words)

6. Critical thinking involves a number of characteristics. Research experience enhances critical analysis skills. Describe any research experience or another situation in which you utilized critical thinking. How will critical thinking be important in your future career? (400 words)

7. Potential sources of health inequities include race, gender, education, income, disability, geographic location, and sexual orientation. Moments to Movement (M2M) is Duke’s collective stand against systemic racism and injustice. The name signifies going beyond passive moments of reflection and becoming more active as we build to make lasting change for our patients, their loved ones and each other. Describe your understanding of race and its relationship to inequities in health and health care. (400 words)

8. How has the COVID-19 pandemic influenced your journey to medical school? Have these events changed your outlook on medicine’s role in society? (400 words)

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‍Essay Topics ('20 – '21)‍

1. Describe a situation where you have chosen to advocate for someone who is different from yourself. What does advocacy mean to you and how has your advocacy developed? What risks, if any, might be associated with your choice to be an advocate? (400 words)

2. Success can arise from failure. What have you gained from your failed experiences and how does this translate in your current way of thinking? (400 words)

3. What has been your most humbling experience and how will that experience affect your interactions with your peers and patients? (400 words)

4. Leadership, teamwork, and communication operate synergistically. What do you value most as a leader and member of a team? What attributes do you possess as a leader and how will you apply them every day? (400 words)

5. Critical thinking involves a number of characteristics. Research experience either enhances or perfects critical analysis skills. Describe any research experience or another situation in which you utilized critical thinking. Why is research or critical thinking important to your future career? (400 words)

6. Describe your understanding of race and its relationship to inequities in health and health care? (400 words)

7. How has the COVID-19 pandemic influenced your journey to medical school? Have these events changed your outlook on medicine’s role in society? (400 words)

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Essay Topics ('19 – '20)

1. Tell us more about who you are. You may provide additional information that expands your self-identity where gender identification, racial and/or ethnic self description, geographic origin, socioeconomic, academic, and/or other characteristics that define who you are as you contemplate a career that will interface with people who are similar AND dissimilar to you. You will have the opportunity below to tell us how you wish to be addressed, recognized and treated.

2. Describe the community in which you were nurtured. What core values did you receive and how will these translate into the contributions you hope to make in medicine? What improvements do you think might make the community better?

3. Describe a situation where you have chosen to advocate for someone who is different from yourself. What does advocacy mean to you and how has your advocacy developed? How do you see it linked to your role as a physician? What risks, if any, might be associated with your choice to be an advocate?

4. What has been your most humbling experience and how will that experience affect your interactions with your peers and patients?

5. Success can arise from failure. What have you gained from your failed experiences and how does this translate in your current way of thinking?

6. Critical thinking involves a number of characteristics including creativity, innovation, discernment, emotional intelligence, application and analysis. Describe a situation in which you utilized critical thinking. Why is critical thinking vital in your future?

7. Leadership, teamwork, and communication operate synergistically. What do you value most as a leader and member of a team? What attributes do you possess as a leader and how will you apply them every day?

OPTIONAL QUESTIONS:

1. In addition to the broad categorization of race, ethnicity, geographic origin, socioeconomic status as provided through your AMCAS application, you may use the text box below to provide additional clarifying information that may reflect the impact of any of these parameters on your development thus far as well as the impact that these may have had on your path to a career in medicine and your plans for the future.

2. Please let us know of any additional information that you would like us to consider while reviewing your application.

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Essays Topics ('18 – '19)‍

1. Tell us more about who you are. You may provide additional information that expands your self-identity where gender identification, racial and/or ethnic self description, geographic origin, socioeconomic, academic, and/or other characteristics that define who you are as you contemplate a career that will interface with people who are similar AND dissimilar to you. You will have the opportunity below to tell us how you wish to be addressed, recognized and treated. (500 words)

2. Describe the community in which you were nurtured or spent the majority of your early development with respect to its demographics. What core values did you receive and how will these translate into the contributions that you hope to make to your community as a medical student and to your career in medicine? What improvements do you think might make the described community better? (500 words)

3. Describe a situation where you have chosen to advocate for someone who is different from yourself. What does advocacy mean to you and how has your advocacy developed? How do you see it linked to your role as a physician/leader? What risks, if any, might be associated with your choice to be an advocate? (500 words)

4. What has been your most humbling experience and how will that experience affect your interactions with your peers and patients? (500 words)

5. Describe a situation where you failed. What did you learn from the experience? Describe at least one functional impact of the experience. (500 words)

6. Critical thinking involves many aspects including curiosity, comprehension, application and analysis. Describe a time when you have utilized critical thinking. How do you anticipate critical thinking being used as part of your career? (400 words)

7. Many view medical care as an undeniable right. What responsibility does the medical profession have in taking care of all persons? (400 words)

OPTIONAL QUESTIONS:

1. In addition to the broad categorization of race, ethnicity, geographic origin, socioeconomic status as provided through your AMCAS application, you may use the text box below to provide additional clarifying information that may reflect the impact of any of these parameters on your development thus far as well as the impact that these may have had on your path to a career in medicine and your plans for the future. (200 words)

2. Please let us know of any additional information that you would like us to consider while reviewing your application.

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‍Essays Topics ('17 – '18)‍

1. Describe the community in which you were nurtured or spent the majority of your early development with respect to its demographics. What core values did you receive and how will these translate into the contributions that you hope to make to your community as a medical student and to your career in medicine? What improvements do you think might make the described community better? (600 words)

2. Describe a situation where you have chosen to advocate for someone who is different from yourself. What does advocacy mean to you and how has your advocacy developed? How do you see it linked to your role as a physician/leader? What risks, if any, might be associated with your choice to be an advocate? (600 words)

3. What has been your most humbling experience and how will that experience affect your interactions with your peers and patients? (600 words)

4. What qualities will you bring to the practice of medicine? (600 words)

5. Describe a situation where you failed. What did you learn from the experience? Describe at least one functional impact of the experience. (600 words)

6. What role has research had in your preparation for medicine? (250 words)

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‍Essays Topics ('16 – '17)‍

1. Describe the community in which you were nurtured or spent the majority of your early development with respect to its demographics. What core values did you receive and how will these translate into the contributions that you hope to make to your community as a medical student and to your career in medicine? What improvements do you think might make the described community better? (600 word limit)

2. Describe a situation where you have chosen to advocate for someone who is different from yourself. What does advocacy mean to you and how has your advocacy developed? How do you see it linked to your role as a physician/leader? What risks, if any, might be associated with your choice to be an advocate? (600 word limit)

3. What has been your most humbling experience and how will that experience affect your interactions with your peers and patients? (600 word limit)

4. Describe an experience when you were confronted with an individual or group whose values differ from yours? How did you resolve the conflict/ challenge? Describe at least one outcome that the experience created. (600 word limit)

5. Describe a situation where you failed. What did you learn from the experience? Describe at least one functional impact of the experience. (600 word limit)

OPTIONAL QUESTIONS:

For those pursuing the Primary Care Leadership Track:

1. Describe a successful leader. What type of leadership skills do you want to cultivate in your training experience and how do you envision doing that? (250 words)

2. Have you engaged with community in the past? How do you hope to understand and impact communities in the future? (250 words)

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‍Essays Topics ('15 - '16)

1. Describe the community in which you were nurtured or spent the majority of your early development with respect to its demographics. What core values did you receive and how will these translate into the contributions that you hope to make to your community as a medical student and to your career in medicine? What improvements do you think might make the described community better?

2. Describe a situation where you have chosen to advocate for someone who is different from yourself. What does advocacy mean to you and how has your advocacy developed? How do you see it linked to your role as a physician/leader? What risks, if any, might be associated with your choice to be an advocate?

3. What has been your most humbling experience and how will that experience affect your interactions with your peers and patients?

4. What will challenge you the most in your life career as a health care provider when you have to deal with people unlike yourself (e.g. gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, social background, and other difference)? How do you plan to address these? What resources do you plan to use to address these?

OPTIONAL QUESTION:

Pick one:

1. Giving Back To Your Community: What is the value of giving back to your community? Is it a more important attribute of a physician than of others performing other roles within a community?

2. Toughest Feedback: What is the toughest feedback that you ever received? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it?

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Essays Topics ('14 – '15)

1. Describe the community in which you were nurtured or spent the majority of your early development with respect to its demographics. What core values did you receive and how will these translate into the contributions that you hope to make to your community as a medical student and to your career in medicine?

2. What is the most difficult obstacle you have faced? What resources did you marshal to confront it? How did the experience affect you and/or transform your life?

3. What has been your most humbling experience and how will that experience affect your interactions with your peers and patients?

OPTIONAL QUESTION:

Pick one:

1. Giving Back To Your Community: What is the value of giving back to your community? Is it a more important attribute of a physician than of others performing other roles within a community?

2. How are You Misunderstood: What are people most likely to misunderstand about you and why?

3. Toughest Feedback: What is the toughest feedback that you ever received? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it?

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‍Essays Topics ('13 – '14)

1. Describe the community in which you were nurtured or spent the majority of your early development with respect to its demographics. What core values did you receive and how will these translate into the contributions that you hope to make to your community as a medical student and to your career in medicine?What is the most difficult obstacle you have faced? What resources did you marshal to confront it? How did the experience affect you and/or transform your life?

2. What has been your most humbling experience and how will that experience affect your interactions with your peers and patients?

OPTIONAL QUESTION:

Pick one:

1. Giving Back To Your Community: What is the value of giving back to your community? Is it a more important attribute of a physician than of others performing other roles within a community?

2. How Are You Misunderstood: What are people most likely to misunderstand about you and why?

3. Toughest Feedback: What is the toughest feedback that you ever received? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it?