Barriers to developing entrepreneurial skills in nursing and midwifery students: a descriptive study

Entrepreneurship in nursing has huge and promising opportunities for a nurse. This includes palliative care/home care, nursing consultation, caregiver training, etc. However, the development of entrepreneurship in nursing still faces several obstacles. The purpose of this study was to determine the barriers to entrepreneurship in nursing from the point of view of nursing students.

The present study was a descriptive and cross-sectional study. All nursing and midwifery students studying in the academic year of 1401-1400 in this school were enrolled in the study at all levels through invitation. All numbers were considered for the study. In order to collect data, a researcher-made questionnaire was used based on a literature review. To determine the reliability, Coudre-Richardson's coefficient was confirmed to be 0.74. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics under SPSS version 16 software and AHP online software.

Out of 162 people to whom the questionnaire was sent, 65 answered it (62% response rate). The three main barriers to entrepreneurship from the student's point of view were lack of business knowledge, influence and power of doctors, and lack of initial capital. Sufficient time was the last priority.Discussion and conclusionConsidering that the most important obstacle is lack of business knowledge. It seems that the necessary training in this field is not effective enough, so it is suggested. Mentoring and entrepreneurship training courses should be held and their effectiveness evaluated.