Abstract
BACKGROUND: Innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) ability has been defined as one of the key elements and expected outcomes of personal and professional development among pharmacy students. As an emerging trend in pharmacy undergraduate training, the organic integration of I&E elements in professional education offers a critical means to cultivate high-quality pharmacy professionals. However, the current methods of doing so have not incorporated adequate consultation with pharmacy undergraduates, who are key stakeholders in I&E and professional education. This work aimed to examine pharmacy undergraduates' attitudes and opinions about the integration of I&E programs into professional education and their preferred integration model. METHODS: In this cross-sectional observational survey, a self-developed questionnaire was used to measure I&E practices, attitudes, and preferred implementation models regarding the integration of I&E programs into professional education among all pharmacy undergraduates enrolled at Wuhan University of Science and Technology, China. RESULTS: A total of 264 valid questionnaires were collected, with a participation rate of 91.7%. Only 33.7% and 20.8% of the respondents had applied for I&E training projects and had participated in I&E competitions, respectively. The mean self-rated scores on 5-point Likert scales were 2.99 for understanding of the pharmaceutical industry, 3.03 for understanding of pharmacy academic research, 2.33 for their own entrepreneurial competence, and 2.76 for their innovative competence. Most students showed positive attitudes towards the integration of I&E into professional pharmacy education; however, fewer than half had positive entrepreneurial attitudes at the individual level. 'Market uncertainty and tight competition' was perceived as the most important barrier jeopardizing pharmacy undergraduates' entrepreneurial prospects, and students were most concerned about 'innovative idea generation' in terms of their innovation. More students (39%) felt that I&E programs should be longitudinally distributed within the current professional education framework; 44% and 56% reported that their preferred stages of pharmacy education and types of courses for integration of I&E programs were 'professional theoretical training' and 'required courses,' respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacy undergraduates had a positive attitude towards integrating I&E into professional pharmacy education. However, further efforts are needed to improve students' understanding, confidence, practices, and competence with respect to pharmacy I&E.