Preparing Physicians for the Human Work of Medicine
Duke’s Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities, and History of Medicine exists to ensure that as medicine becomes more technologically powerful, it remains deeply human. Across the journey from pre-health education through medical school, residency, and faculty life, the Trent Center forms clinicians with the moral imagination, historical perspective, and practical wisdom to care for patients well and to serve the common good.
Why Give to the Trent Center?
Medicine is entering an era of extraordinary technological possibility. Artificial intelligence and other powerful tools are transforming what clinicians know and do. But emerging technologies cannot answer medicine’s most fundamental human questions: What do patients need from their clinicians beyond knowledge and technical skill? What kind of people must clinicians become to practice medicine well?
Through the Trent Center, Duke has the opportunity to become the national leader in clinician formation, bringing ethics, humanities, and history into the heart of medical education and practice. We aspire to lead the nation in asking not only what medicine can do, but what medicine is for — and who clinicians must become to practice it well.
Opportunities to Partner with the Trent Center
Philanthropic investment through the Trent Center Gift Fund will help ensure that as medicine becomes more technologically powerful, it remains deeply human. Your support will advance the groundbreaking work of several initiatives:
Secures enduring leadership to advance the Trent Center’s mission, unite Duke’s strengths across disciplines, and build a national center for clinician formation.
Ensures Duke students and clinical trainees are taught by outstanding scholars who model human-centered medicine, while giving faculty protected time to teach, mentor, and lead.
Creates a community of medical students who develop skills in medical humanities, ethics, and health advocacy to become leaders in medicine and their communities.
Forms residents through reflection, study, and shared practices centered on who they are becoming as physicians. Building on Good Surgeon’s growing national network, Duke will expand this model across specialties and medical centers nationwide.
Brings School of Medicine and Trinity College faculty into sustained collaboration to develop courses, mentoring programs, and new approaches to clinician formation — expanding opportunities for undergraduate pre-health students.
Impact of Support
With our philanthropic partners, the Trent Center will continue to form students, residents, and faculty; support leading scholars; confront the ethical challenges created by emerging technologies; and extend our models far beyond Duke. Together, we will:
Build a pathway of formation. Engage future clinicians from undergraduate education through medical school, residency, and faculty life.
Equip faculty to lead change. Give Duke faculty the time and community to create and evaluate new models of clinician formation.
Extend Duke’s influence nationally. Develop, evaluate, and disseminate models of clinician formation across medical schools and residency programs.
Contact Us
Learn more about supporting the Trent Center and discuss giving opportunities. We look forward to connecting with you!
Emily James, CFRE
Senior Director of Development, School of Medicine
Duke Health Development and Alumni Affairs
emily.h.james@duke.edu | 812-499-1099 | giving.dukehealth.org