•List the advantages and challenges to teaching with drills and the evidence for use in health professions education.•Appreciate and apply drill based practice to teaching palliative care skills.•Describe the educational and behavioral theories of drill design; this includes the components and structure of a successful drill. Instructors of athletes, dancers, and musicians have been perfecting the art of practice for years, developing efficient ways to improve skills. Research has shown that the most effective forms of practice always include learner concentration on a specific task, feedback from teachers, and learner introspection. One example is a drill. The goal of drill based practice is to transfer key skills from working memory to long term memory, moving them from being consciously controlled to automatic. Drills differ from other forms of practice because they concentrate on isolated skills and control for other variables, often distorting reality. Many examples of drills exist in sports, music, and primary education but are less commonly found in health professions education. Instead, medical education frequently uses simulation, OSCE, role-play, and case-based sessions to teach skills. These methods are often both resource and time intensive. Drills can be an efficient and effective alternative in which learners can obtain and practice the most fundamental skills flexibly in different settings. Given the time constraints and workforce shortage in palliative medicine, drill based teaching and practice can provide an interactive method for learners that can be done in a short amount of time and can be utilized for interprofessional learning settings. Some examples of drills that have been designed are converting opioids, recognizing and responding to emotion, and introducing palliative care to patients. This concurrent session will start with the audience participating in a palliative care skill drill. After participating in the drill, we will guide the audience through the components of the drill, highlighting educational theory for health care professions. A brief presentation of the steps of creating a drill will follow this exercise and we will share our experiences in designing drills. Audience members will then practicing writing a drill in groups.