Principle of deliberate practice in healthcare education

1. Deliberate practice refers to “a training strategy designed to maximise
performance and maintain expertise”.
It is characterised by:
 Structured training based on learner’s level
 Optimal planning
 Repetition with deep understanding
 Self-reflection & concentration
 Effective feedback from a reliable source and motivation
 Sufficient time on self-study
Introduced by
K. Anders Ericsson

2. With experience, any unfamiliar domain
becomes increasingly automated.
E.g. Tying a shoe-lace.
Additional experience of the same task will not
refine or improve its accuracy.
Deliberate construction of new goals and
standards that exceeds current level of
performance makes the learner to stay in the
cognitive phase of the task and hence improve
further performance

4.  Can the principle of deliberate practice be applied to improve
performance in a novice/expert in the healthcare profession?
 How can we use this principle to train our students?
 Can this applied to improve only psychomotor skills? What about
cognitive or affective skills?
 Does the lack of ‘definition’ of an expert in the healthcare field
make the measurement of the effects of deliberate practice
impossible?