Fostering Management and Leadership Skills in Medical Students via Students’ Clubs

Abstract

Background: Leadership and management competencies are increasingly recognized as essential for future healthcare professionals. Student clubs and organizations provide informal yet powerful platforms for experiential leadership learning. However, limited quantitative evidence exists linking such participation with measurable leadership outcomes in undergraduate health-science education. Objectives: To examine the relationship between student-club participation, leadership experience, and perceived confidence as a future leader among university students preparing for healthcare professions. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 30 students from diverse academic programs was conducted. Variables included current or past club membership, leadership roles, perceived importance of participation, and self-rated leadership confidence. Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses were performed to determine associations and predictors. Additionally, findings were contextualized through a targeted review of comparable programs and frameworks in medical education leadership literature. Results: Active club membership was significantly correlated with both perceived importance of participation (r = 0.47, p = 0.009) and leadership confidence (r = 0.47, p = 0.009). Regression analysis confirmed membership as the only significant predictor of confidence (β = 2.74, p = 0.011), explaining 25.3% of variance (R² = 0.253). Neither holding a leadership title nor perceived importance alone significantly influenced confidence levels. Conclusions: Sustained participation in student clubs, rather than holding formal leadership positions, is most strongly associated with self-perceived leadership confidence. These findings align with evidence from structured leadership programs [11–27], reinforcing that experiential, longitudinal, and peer-driven engagement effectively builds leadership competencies aligned with the Medical Leadership Competency Framework. Integrating and formally recognizing such extracurricular learning within curricula may strengthen future healthcare leadership capacity.