Student Profile: Motivations, Contributions and Barriers to Engage in Extracurricular Activities

Abstract

Background: Extracurricular activities in medical education and are defined as any social, philanthropic, non-mandatory and unpaid activity. Some of these activities allow students to interact with the community providing care, learning and experiences for both. The purpose of this study is to describe the motivational aspects, the learnings and the barriers involved in the practice of these activities. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with medical students attending the first to the fifth year of medicine. We used qualitative and quantitative analyses to understand the motivating aspects, barriers and contributions involved in the practice of extracurricular activities. Results: Of the 586 students regularly enrolled in the medical course, 462 students accepted to participate in the research (Response rate: 78.43%), with 159 male students (34, 4%) and 303 female students (65.6%). Most of medical students (58,01%) participate in extracurricular activities with less participation during the first year (10,9%) and internship (35,4%). Among the motivating factors, students reported the desire to contribute to society, support their professional choice and learning. The students mentioned as learnings: integration of knowledge, life experiences, and development of communication, teamwork, leadership, responsibility, empathy and resilience. The barriers mentioned were the limited spots, the selection, the lack of support from those involved, personal, time management and possible losses in academic performance, physical and financial resources. Conclusion: Extracurricular activities allow medical students to develop skills and attitudes that are important to their future as a doctor. Students are motivated to participate in these activities to contribute to society, support their future professional choice and improve their learning.