Integrating experiential learning theory with innovation and entrepreneurship education: a qualitative study on Chinese medical students

作者：Yanlin Wang, Ying Fu, Xuesen Wu, Haiyin Deng, Yize Ruan, Chuanna Liu, Changxin Chen, Yujuan Gao, Hualiang You, Chengping Sun, Yaru Liu, Xu Dong Zhang, Jingchun Zhang, Jia Huang, Shengyi Dong, Jingsong Wu · 发表于：BMC Medical Education · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s12909-025-07804-5 · 被引用次数：16 · 研究领域：Biomedical and Engineering Education、Innovations in Medical Education、Problem and Project Based Learning

BACKGROUND: Traditional medical education models emphasizing didactic knowledge transmission inadequately prepare healthcare professionals for complex challenges in modern medicine. Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education (IEE) offers opportunities for fostering innovative thinking, yet limited research systematically examines how medical students experience entrepreneurial learning processes. Accordingly, this study applies Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) to examine how medical students engage with IEE and develop entrepreneurial competencies within healthcare contexts. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 medical students from four Chinese universities who participated in IEE programs (2019–2024). Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, following Kolb’s four-stage experiential learning cycle. FINDINGS: Medical students’ participation in IEE maps clearly onto Kolb’s ELT cycle, yet with adaptations shaped by their clinical training. In Concrete Experience phase, students encounter technical, market, and outcome uncertainty (e.g., students described struggling with product design due to limited entrepreneurial knowledge). During Reflective Observation phase, they assess failures as learning opportunities through clinical systems thinking; one team improved innovation by repeatedly re-evaluating unmet clinical needs. Abstract Conceptualization phase involves synthesizing insights into broader models through interdisciplinary dialogue, such as rede...