Leadership Attitudes and Beliefs of Pharmacy Students: A cross-sectional Study from a Malaysian University

Background: Pharmacy profession requires pharmacists to have leadership qualities to respond the challenges in healthcare system to meet the patient’s medication-related needs. Therefore, to build leadership qualities among pharmacists, it is essential to discuss it during the early training of the future pharmacists.

Aim: The study aims to evaluate leadership attitudes and beliefs of pharmacy students at School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

Methods: The study was designed as a cross-sectional, descriptive survey. All undergraduate pharmacy students (n=478) were targeted for the study. The Leadership Attitudes and Beliefs Scale was used

Results: Three hundred and forty-five students responded to the survey (response rate = 72.1%). The mean scores for hierarchical and systemic thinking were 25.7±6.56 and 30.7±6.88 respectively. It indicates that most of the students believe in a high hierarchical-high systemic thinking. Significant associations observed in a comparison between ethnicity and leadership aspects: leader being responsible of controlling, keeping authority, and charge of the organization (p=0.002,p=0.024and p=0.047respectively). Gender was reported to have a significant association with factors of participation (p=0.035) and security of the organization (p=0.014).

Conclusion: The study findings suggest that pharmacy undergraduates prefer a high hierarchical thinking and high systemic thinking approach to leadership. Therefore, specialized programs about leadership are suggested to be included as part of the students activities and training. In these programs, more emphasis on systemic thinking is needed rather than overly depending on hierarchical thinking. Moreover, students should be equipped with knowledge necessary to decide which style of leadership to adapt to promote the well-being of the organization.