The effect of gamification in entrepreneurship and business education on pharmacy students' self-efficacy and learning outcomes.

Abstract

Purpose: The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of an entrepreneurship and business education program using gamification on enhancing self-efficacy and the learning of entrepreneurial and business skills among pharmacy students.

Method: This quasi-experimental study was carried out at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. The participants, including 5th and 6th-year pharmacy students (N = 86), were entered. The objective of the intervention was to improve entrepreneurial and business skills and develop business models in the pharmacy field. During the intervention, students collaboratively engage in a puzzle of a business plan as a project, integrating elements including risk, rewards, completion, multiplayer gameplay, and scenario-based challenges across various pharmaceutical fields. Students were tasked with completing canvas business plan components for their proposals, which were subsequently evaluated by an expert. The students' self-efficacy was assessed using a 23-item questionnaire, and their learning was measured through a project-based examination focused on the business plan. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, T-tests, Pearson's ANOVA, and regression analysis, with a significance level considered p-value < 0.05.

Results: The students' learning scores were reported as 89.93 ± 5.66. The scores of students' self-efficacy domains before (46.11 ± 2.59) and after the educational program (69.58 ± 2.04) had a significant difference. (p-value = 0.0001). The results of the regression test showed that students' learning scores have a substantial relationship with initiating investor relationships (p = 0.005) and coping with unexpected challenges (p = 0.03). After controlling the demographic information, the domains of initiating investor relationships (p = 0.004) and developing new products and market opportunities (p = 0.038) significantly correlate with a student's entrepreneurship score.

Conclusion: The educational program using the gamification method with a focus on business models significantly enhances students' self-efficacy in pharmaceutical entrepreneurship. This improvement was observed across all domains assessed, indicating a comprehensive impact on students' self-perception of their ability to succeed in entrepreneurship. Further study of entrepreneurship development and business education using a game-based learning method as a collaborative and active method in pharmacy education is recommended.

Clinical trial number: Not applicable.