To explore whether a dual-intervention community model can stimulate medical student interest in neurology and improve patient access to evidence-based exercise programs for individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Individuals with PD face significant transportation barriers to accessing evidence-based exercise programs. These barriers further drive health disparities and contribute to worse health outcomes. Simultaneously, the neurology workforce faces a growing shortage, augmented by limited early student exposure to neurology patients. To address these dual challenges, we created Parkinson's Buddies, a student-led partnership with the Rock Steady Boxing Gym (RSB) in Central New York designed to improve patient access to PD-specific evidence-based exercise programs while facilitating early medical student exposure to neurology.

A pilot transportation program was initiated in collaboration with a local transportation company to offer complimentary round-trip rides for individuals with PD attending RSB classes. Ride frequency, mileage, and participant recruitment were tracked to assess feasibility. Concurrently, medical students participating in the Parkinson’s Buddies volunteer program completed quantitative and qualitative reflections evaluating their volunteer experiences. Reflections were coded thematically to identify salient learning areas.

A total of n=35 medical students completed 179 volunteer hours and submitted 134 reflections. Dominant themes included: “Humanistic connection in neurology” (86%), “Functional and neuro-rehabilitative gains” (57%), and “Clinical insight into Parkinson’s disease” (51%). 20% reported a shifted perception of neurology, and overall, 97% of volunteer experiences were rated as 5/5.

Among boxers (n=6), participants completed 17 complimentary round-trip rides over 5 weeks, spanning 413.8 miles. All scheduled rides were successfully completed without safety concerns.