Impact of extracurricular activities on the self-actualization of medical students: a systematic review

The world needs medical professionals trained in complex skills. However, the universities'curriculum focuses mainly on the acquisition of theoretical knowledge. Evidence shows that participation in extracurricular activities (EA) allows the development of numerous skills. From Maslow's perspective, engaging in EA would contribute to self-actualization, the highest step in the pyramid of human needs. On the other hand, negative impacts of participation in EC have been documented, such as the presence of burnout. Little is known about the real impact of having an EC during undergraduate medical school, despite the fact that worldwide they are one of the determining factors in opting for future professional alternatives. The objective of this review is to determine, based on current evidence, the impact of EA on the self- actualization of medical students. A systematic search was carried out in four databases: SCOPUS, ERIC, WOS and PubMed, with four concepts: "Extracurricular activities", "Higher education", "Medical Students" and "Self Actualization", where publications between the years were considered. 2018 to 2023, in Spanish, English and German; 5807 results were obtained (526 duplicates). Using the PRISMA protocol and the COVIDENCE platform, three authors reviewed the results and selected those aligned with the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Those studies that led to conflict were reviewed by a fourth author. Finally, 26 publications were obtained, which were reviewed and synthesized by the authors. Within the findings, few investigations addressed the topic of search. The studies have methodologies that lead to the existence of favorable biases towards EAs, due to using small samples or selected populations. In general, EAs appear to be a relevant factor to develop and achieve self-realization in medical students.