Practice makes permanent.

On a recent phone call with my 94-year old mother (how can that be?  I like to imagine myself as being just 35 years old.), she recalled one of her memories of me as young boy. I, too, recall the day with vivid detail as though it were yesterday.  Our family was vacationing in northern Minnesota and I, clad in my 60’s era bright orange life-preserver, was learning to navigate a rowboat. Out front of our rented cabin, I’d untie and push my rowboat offshore into the sky blue waters of Lake Kabetogama. Once on the lake and seated in the middle of the boat, I practice steering the boat straight forward, then straight backward. Then I’d pull one oar forward and push the other backward to spin acutely in the clockwise direction. I’d reverse the process to spin counterclockwise. Then I’d gain enough speed to safely land my sea vessel back on shore. After securely tying my boat to a tree, I’d repeat the whole process again … over and over and over. I learned a tremendous amount that day that has carried with me for decades since spent on the water in varied sizes of boats and in varied conditions.

I can think of countless examples since that time where I, for some reason, was inspired to repeat a given task or skill over and over until my muscle memory and subconscious took over … what was once a conscious effort was now essentially a habit … I could glide through the former challenge almost mindlessly.  Often we hear of athletes talking about how “the game has slowed down for me” or being “in the zone” … that is the product of this state of near nirvana where is our past dedicated effort has given us our current nearly effortless competence at given skill.

It was many years later that my oldest brother made a comment that has stuck with me ever since. He said, “contrary to conventional wisdom, practice does NOT make perfect … practice makes permanent”. As I recall, he made the statement as I was training in basketball and he went on to explain that it is important to practice a skill with the same focus, intensity, speed and effort that you intend to dedicate to a game.  His point was that I was creating mental and physical habits that would become my muscle memory and the speed at which I made my “game time” floor observations and decisions.

I share this with you because I think that it relates very well to our careers in veterinary medicine.  To be honest, I did not study and prepare in veterinary school with the same diligence and tenacity that I dedicated to boating, basketball or a myriad of other fun pursuits. In veterinary school, my grades were good, but I dedicated myself to preparing for exams; I expended less effort toward distilling it all down to useable “game time” habits and thought processes.  I was under the mistaken notion that it all would somehow magically come together despite my passive approach to preparation. I supposed that I thought that I could simply “turn it on” once my DVM degree had been bestowed upon me and I was donning the white examination coat of a doctor.  Sad to say, it simply wasn’t true … I, subconsciously, bought into a lie. Fortunately, I had some great mentors in my internship, residency, and beyond who inspired and challenged me return to my brother’s “practice makes permanent” wisdom.

I’ve watched over the years as this wisdom has gradually permeated veterinary continuing education (CE). We used to define CE value by the amount of content crammed into a CE course … as if one could possibly retain so much new information and skills. Gradually over time, we placed more value upon repetition for the purpose of refining skills and developing “game time” competency.

We’ve certainly adapted many our CSUVetCE courses to leverage the power of “practice makes permanent”.  Sometimes, it is progressing from a hands-on skills trainer to a low fidelity model to a cadaveric specimen before working on a live patient. Other times it is closely reviewing your postoperative fracture repair (or TPLO) radiographs before repeating the exercise with specifically defined goals for your improved performance. No matter how it is manifest, the intent is to practice like you intend to perform when it is all on the line.

It seems to me that this “practice makes permanent” mindset applies to a broad array of veterinary team members and skillsets including client communications, intravenous catheter placement, endotracheal entubation, ultrasonongraphy, or surgical skills.  What do you think?  How do you build your best skills?

I suppose there something in my DNA that caused me, as a young boy, to revel in the opportunity to build rowboat navigational skills that today, as an educator, brings me great joy when I see others build expertise in their veterinary skills.  We, at CSUVetCE, often talk about the power of the collision between inspired learners, engaged educators, and meaningful experiences … the powerful impact comes from inspiring and equipping others to provide better care for their patients so that lives can be lived to their fullest.  I can’t think of anything much more exciting to be a part of!

Ross’ career has spanned both private practice and academia. Along the way, he has been actively engaged in orthopedic training of veterinarians for more than 30 years. Ross is a professor Orthopedics at Colorado State University, Associate Director of Education at the Translational Medicine Institute and a frequent educator at orthopedic courses held here at CSUVetCE and around the world.  If you, too, believe that “what if … thinking” is the key to innovation and advancement beyond that status quo, please get to know us at www.CSUVetCE.com because nothing fuels our passion like rubbing elbows with those who are similarly driven.

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