Deliberate Practice and Skill Acquisition in Nursing Practice

The purpose of this article is to describe an educational process designed to accelerate skill acquisition for new nurse graduates through deliberate practice and situated learning experiences. The concept of deliberate practice provides the framework for authentic learning experiences based on real-life situations that incorporate targeted outcomes for success while pushing their limits beyond what was previously achieved. Through deliberate practice, new graduate nurses are given the opportunity to gain valuable practical experiences that otherwise would have taken years to accomplish in a clinical practice. The structure and intensity of the experience grounded in realistic or authentic circumstances as supported by deliberate practice enhances learning to promote professional development.