Assessment of academic/non-academic factors and extracurricular activities influencing performance of medical students of faculty of medicine, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia

Abstract

Background: Physical and mental comfort is known to have a crucial influence on health and performance amongst medical students. Very often, medical students suffer from poor quality of life (QOL) related to the work-life balance due to the lack of sleep, nutritional and dietary disorders and low physical activity, resulting in a negative impact on their academic performance. This study aims to determine the potential academic/non-academic factors and extra-curricular activities influencing the performance of medical students in Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA). Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on medical students at the Faculty of Medicine, UniSZA, Terengganu, Malaysia. A sample size of 300 respondents were recruited from Year I to V medical students. The questionnaire was adopted, modified and validated from a similar study in Saudi Arabia. Results: Majority of the students enjoy medical education are self-motivated, have a good command of English, non-smokers and have a sufficient sleep. Conclusion: University medical students possess good QOL within the optimum educational environment.

Keywords

• Academic performance
• academic/non-academic factors
• extracurricular
• influencing
• Malaysia
• medical students