A hands-on clinical skill like chest-compression technique is a motor skill, encoded in the neuromuscular system through repetition, not in declarative memory through exposure. Watching a lecture builds conceptual knowledge — you can describe the correct depth and rate — but that knowledge doesn't by itself wire the muscle-timing and proprioceptive feedback loop needed to actually deliver it.
lecture: competency(n) ≈ flat, low (no motor rehearsal)
practice: competency(n) = C∞ − (C∞ − C₀)·e^(−n/τ) (skill-curve growth)
- Lecture review — re-watching the same content adds no new proprioceptive data; the competency readout stays near its conceptual-knowledge ceiling no matter how many times you replay it.
- Simulation practice — each hands-on attempt on the mannequin is scored against target depth (5–6 cm) and rate (100–120/min), and that error signal drives measurable improvement, converging toward the proficiency threshold.
- This is the deliberate-practice principle behind simulation-based medical education: repetition alone is not enough — it must pair with immediate, specific feedback against a real performance target.