Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning 8 (2016) 672–680 Teaching and Learning Matters Shaping pharmacy studentsʼ business and management aptitude and attitude $ Roderick A. Slavcev, PhD, MBA, MRSB, CBiol a,* , Nancy M. Waite, BScPhm, PharmD a , Brad Jennings, BA, BEd, MEd b a School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada b Open Learning and Education Support, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada Abstract Background: Evolving practice requirements, coupled with revised pharmacy graduate competencies, have pharmacy schools considering how best to create or adapt their business curricula to graduate students with relevant skills and attitudes to support them as practice leaders and innovators. Educational activity: Based on recommendations from an advisory group of pharmacy business professionals, a business program was designed and delivered at a new pharmacy school to meet the business, strategic management, leadership, and entrepreneurial training needs of graduating pharmacists. The program consists of a mandatory business course with an incentivized competition and other core courses with business components, as well as elective courses in pharmacy-related business topics, extracurricular and incentivized business-related activities, and experiential-learning opportunities. Critical analysis: The schoolʼs business curriculum has many components, but three in particular (the mandatory business course, an investment club and a highly incentivized competition) highlight innovative approaches that foster the application of more complex business and leadership skills. Each component draws upon lower-order foundational skills taught earlier in the program and requires students to apply their prior learning in real-world contexts with increasing complexity and responsibility. Conclusions: To flourish in their profession pharmacy students need to be leaders and innovators, not followers. A pharmacy business curriculum was designed and delivered as part of a new pharmacy schoolʼs curriculum that could be piloted or adapted by other colleges and faculties of pharmacy. The use of external expertise to support both development and delivery of the curriculum has positively impacted student learning and attitudes, laying the foundation for the curriculumʼs ongoing success. r 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Business program; Pharmacy curriculum; Strategic management; Business skills; Advisory committee Background To meet the needs of their patients and to cope with the increasing complexity found in modern health care systems, pharmacists today must be proficient managers as well as pharmaceutical experts. Well-developed communication, coordination, and team leadership are some of the most vital skill sets to help them navigate the challenges they will face. Moreover, expanding scope of practice and new reimbursement models require individuals with strong management, finance, and marketing abilities. The need to develop such skills during entry-to-practice programs is acknowledged by pharmacy educators, as well as recommended by the Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education (CAPE) 1 in the United States and the http://www.pharmacyteaching.com http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2016.06.003 1877-1297/r 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ☆ This work was supported by Dr. Roderick Slavcevʼs start-up funds provided by the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy. * Corresponding author: Roderick A. Slavcev, PhD, MBA, MRSB, CBiol, School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. E-mail: slavcev@uwaterloo.ca