Medical Students’ Participation in Extracurricular Activities: Motivations, Contributions, and Barriers. A Qualitative Study

INTRODUCTION: Extracurricular activities in medical education are defined as any social, philanthropic, non-mandatory, and unpaid activities. These activities promote interactions between students and the community in ways that both provide care and create learning opportunities and experiences for both students and the community at large. This study elaborates on the motivational aspects, learnings, and barriers that occur when students participate in these activities. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of medical students in their first to fifth years. Qualitative analyses have been used to understand the motivation, barriers, and contributions associated with extracurricular activities participation. RESULTS: Of the 586 students enrolled in the medical course, 462 students agreed to participate in the research. The students reported that they were motivated to participate in contributing to society, support their professional choices, integrate their knowledge, gain life experience, develop communication and leadership skills, learn to work in a team, and become more responsible, empathetic, and resilient. Barriers to participation were the limited number of available positions, selection criteria, lack of support from those involved, personal issues, poor time management, risk of lowered academic performance, and lack of physical and financial resources. DISCUSSION: Medical students are motivated to participate in Community-based extracurricular activities (CBEA) and this experience leads to improvement in the curriculum and can develop fundamental skills and attitudes such as leadership, commitment, and responsibility. To maximize the benefits of these activities, schools must support students and ensure that they have the time and chance to participate without physical strain, that were barriers mentioned by the academics.