A Deliberate Practice-Based Training Protocol for Student Nurses: Care of the Critically Ill Patient: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Deliberate Practice-Based Training Protocol

• The study validated the use of a novel deliberate practice-based intervention designed to enhance critical care skills.
• The study clarified the role of deliberate practice in enhancing participant's ability to attend to pertinent stimuli within the simulated task environment.
• The enhancements to performance seen in the intervention group were seen in the rapidity with which they engaged in titration of vasoactive medications and the degree to which participants attended to key stimuli within the simulated task environment.

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to establish the efficacy of a deliberate practice intervention designed to enhance levels of clinical performance in senior baccalaureate nursing students.MethodA randomized control design was used. Forty participants were randomly assigned to control and intervention groups.ResultsThe deliberate practice-based intervention resulted in statistically significant improvements to key aspects of participants' efforts in each of the four scenarios.ConclusionsThe deliberate practice protocol prompted participants to reconsider and act on salient stimuli present in the simulated task environment, resulting in substantive performance improvement.