Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS)
DOPS is designed to assess and provide a structured feedback format for both knowledge and technical proficiency regarding a discrete procedural skill.
Please encourage the trainees to do DOPS throughout their attachment, it should provide ongoing structured feedback to aid and support their learning. They should not be doing unsupervised procedures if they have not been deemed competent.
It is useful to ask the trainee to outline how they will do the procedure and what precautions they will take, before they start the procedure. To assess clinical knowledge, understanding and reasoning related to performing the procedure on a patient. Remember that the most important aspect of this assessment is the constructive feedback you provide to the trainee after completing the DOPS.