Directly Observed Procedural Skills – What do the Assessors Think?

Directly observed procedural skills (DOPS) assessments are widely used in clinical education for the assessment of competency in real-life situations. There is a growing body of evidence supporting their use in medical education and some evidence to suggest that DOPS can have a positive educational impact and provide valuable opportunities for feedback within veterinary education settings (Cobb et al 2013). DOPS assessments have been used in the Veterinary Programme for the past 5 years. The aim of this evaluation study was to establish whether the DOPS assessment is achieving the outcomes we had anticipated when it was implemented (i.e. valid and reliable assessment of clinical competency, feasibility in the clinical environment, improve feedback provided to students). Each assessor (participant) was reviewed by a peer (or by self-reflection) once during the study period (3 months). Participants completed a short written survey commenting on assessors’ performance as well as a section to rate and comment on the perceived validity of the DOPS as a form of assessment. 40 DOPS assessors participated in the study. Over 90% of participants agreed that they would recommend DOPS for use in another Veterinary School, however, several concerns were raised about the educational impact of DOPS and their ability to identify poorly performing students. The process of the DOPS audit itself has started an important discussion among assessors about what constitutes a 'competent' performance. Take home message: We recommend building a peer review process into DOPS assessment and new assessor training to improve the validity of assessment