02/12/2025
What is Deliberate Practise
I remember one moment during my internship that has stayed with me for years.
We were in the ICU late in the evening, and the senior Family Medicine resident was placing an arterial line.
He had already performed several central and arterial lines during his rotation. But what struck me was not the procedure itself - it was the way he approached it.
After a few attempts, he paused, looked at the setup again, and said, “Let me try a more acute angle. It works better with this vessel.”
And just like that - smooth cannulation.
At the time, I didn’t have the language for it. Today, I do: deliberate practice.
It was not luck.
It was not guesswork.
It was insight.
He had performed the procedure enough times, reflected on his approach, understood the “why” behind each movement, and refined his technique. That is what separates routine repetition from true growth.
From boring routine work to Mastery - deliverate practise.
What I have learned about Deliberate Practice
It is a higher level of learning where the mechanical steps are no longer the focus.
You start to see inside the skill - understanding the deeper purpose of each action.
Repetition becomes meaningful, not mindless and boring
And with enough insight, you begin to adapt, teach, and even innovate.
This applies not just to procedures, but to the entire practice of medicine.
How this changed my practice as a doctor?
Over time, I realized that deliberate practice is not limited to inserting lines or intubating patients. It has reshaped how I show up in clinical practice every day:
Listening more deeply to patients
Understanding patterns behind their symptoms
Noticing things I previously overlooked
Improving patient experience by being present, not rushed
I have seen this same quality in some of the best clinicians I have worked with - surgeons, physicians, emergency doctors - the ones whose outcomes seem to consistently stand out.
Their excellence is not magic; it is the product of deliberate reflection, thousands of small adjustments, and a mindset of continuous improvement.
Deliberate Practice is what turns experience into mastery.
Not just in procedures, but in empathy, communication, and clinical judgment.
It is a journey I am still on - and one that keeps transforming the way I care for patients. The way I approach life.
How has Deliberate Practise worked for you?
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