Developing a Social Intra/Entrepreneurship Curriculum for Canadian Baccalaureate Dental Hygiene Education

The University of British Columbia's (UBC) Dental Hygiene Degree Program (DHDP) conducted an extensive program renewal process starting in 2017. Two UBC studies and other studies in health literature highlighted the importance of integrating entrepreneurship into dental hygiene education. What entrepreneurial knowledge and abilities are essential for the graduates of a 4-year dental hygiene baccalaureate program to support access to oral health care?

This study involved a participatory action research design. Through a purposeful sampling approach, 6 faculty members and 4 senior students volunteered to develop curriculum around entrepreneurship. This included an iterative process involving 6 focus group sessions facilitated by a contracted consultant. The analysis of textual data was based on grounded theory methodology, with the consultant involved in the initial coding and recoding. This was followed by feedback loops to the author group (n = 4) and all focus group members (n = 1).

The Entrepreneurship Focus Group (EFG) members co-created a Social Intra/Entrepreneurship domain with its associated sub-competencies (n = 13) and sample learning activities (n = 13). A 'challenge-based' assessment was developed to align with the domain competencies.

During the 2021-2022 academic year, the EFG developed a Social Intra/Entrepreneurship curriculum for baccalaureate dental hygiene students. This marks an important step towards incorporating entrepreneurship within dental hygiene education. The findings of this study are fundamental in preparing graduates to assume more impactful and diverse roles in innovative and creative healthcare reform.