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Dr. Ed Buckley on Becoming a Doctor

The vice dean for education for Duke's School of Medicine talks about what it takes to excel in medical school and how medical education is changing.

What does it take to get into medical school and to excel once you have been admitted? In a live "Office Hours" webcast interview at noon Friday, April 12, Dr. Ed Buckley, vice dean for education for Duke's School of Medicine, will take questions about the MCATs, medical school applications and the future of medical education.

Watch the interview live on this webpage or on Duke Today. To pose a question to Dr. Buckley, email live@duke.edu, Tweet at @DukeOfficeHours or post to the Duke Office Hours Facebook page.

Duke's School of Medicine's curriculum differs from some other medical schools. Students study the basic sciences for one year instead of two, giving them the opportunity to devote their entire third year to a scholarly research project. Students care for patients during their second year.

In his role as vice dean for education, Buckley oversees the development of the medical school curriculum. He was instrumental in developing the school's new Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Center for Health Education and has worked closely with the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore to create a research-oriented medical school in Singapore modeled after Duke's curriculum.

Buckley, who attended Duke for both undergraduate and medical school, is a professor of ophthalmology and pediatrics and division chief for pediatric and neuro-ophthalmology. His research focuses on treatment of complicated eye muscle problems and congenital cataracts. He has published six books, 35 book chapters and more than 100 peer-reviewed articles.

"Office Hours" is Duke's live webcast series for the university community, and others, to engage with professors about their research and scholarship.