Integrating Adaptive Sports into Medical Education: A Service-Learning Partnership to Enhance Disability Competency Among Medical Students

Case Diagnosis: Service-learning Initiative
Population: Medical Students, Athletes with Disabilities

Case Description or Program Description: Five medical students and a faculty mentor established a chapter of a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering persons with disabilities (PWDs) through physical activity and social connection. As part of a required service-learning course beginning in 2022, the students aimed to enhance their understanding of disability and improve PWD health by engaging with PWDs in a non-clinical setting. Service-learning courses in medical schools provide dedicated curricula for students to learn about the history, needs, and strengths of communities through active service with local organizations and dedicated opportunities for growth and reflection. Through the initiative, the students assessed community needs, consulted experts, arranged logistics, designed inclusive workouts, and ensured chapter sustainability.

Setting: A collaborative service-learning initiative between medical students and an adaptive sports organization in Bronx, NY.

Assessment/Results: The student-led chapter successfully launched weekly adaptive workouts at a public park in the Bronx, which continue today. Through direct engagement, students gained first-hand insight into PWDs’ lived experiences, health goals, barriers to physical activity, and challenges faced navigating our society. Beyond promoting physical activity, the chapter fostered a growing community centered on social inclusion and mutual support among PWDs and volunteers.

Discussion (relevance): PWDs remain underserved in a predominantly ableist healthcare system that prioritizes treating impairments over advancing their health and wellness. Medical education reflects this gap, often overlooking PWDs in discussions of social inequities and healthcare disparities, leaving future physicians less equipped to provide care that addresses their needs and maximizes their health. This initiative demonstrates how service-learning and community engagement can foster physician competency in disability to both improve PWD care and normalize disability within healthcare and society.

Conclusions: Service-learning programs and student-community partnerships offer a powerful avenue to address PWD needs while simultaneously equipping future physicians to provide better care and confront social inequities.