The role of entrepreneurship education in determining success of self-employed professionals in Zimbabwe: the case of medical doctors in private practice.

Abstract

The main purpose of this research project was to discover the role that entrepreneurial education plays in determining success of self-employed professionals in Zimbabwe looking at medical doctors in private practice. The general conclusion from literature is that entrepreneurial education equips individuals with knowledge, skills and capabilities to establish and maintain successful businesses. Literature has however been limited to other parts of the world and hence this study had an aim of filling this research gap by critically appraising entrepreneurial education in the Zimbabwean context. Information gathered from this research and its applications were aimed at benefiting medical practitioners in private practice, Institutions of higher learning and entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe at large. The study adopted an exploratory case study design of medical doctors in private practice. Face-to-face interviews using were conducted with practitioners in different specialties using an interview guide to collect empirical data. The interview guide had unstructured questions that enabled the gathering of in-depth information also leaving room to probe for clarity on any responses. The research employed a qualitative research philosophy and the collected data was analysed through data displays in the form of Content Analytic Summary Tables. The study established that entrepreneurial education can lead to the success of medical doctors in private practice. However, the study also established that: medical practitioners are not aware of the fact that entrepreneurial courses can be beneficial to any profession as they want tailor-made courses; medical training courses lack business modules as they were designed with doctors as employees in mind and not as employers; medical doctors lack awareness of entrepreneurial programs being offered by institutions of higher learning. The recommendations in light of these findings are that: there must be tailor-made courses to assist doctors running private practices; entrepreneurial modules should be made part of the medical curricula; institutions of higher learning should have awareness campaigns to promote the programs that they offer and their respective fees.