Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS) in Restorative Dentistry: Advantages and Disadvantages in Student's Point of View

Introduction: Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS) is a valuable method in evaluation of clinical procedures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of this evaluation method from the restorative dentistry students' point of view in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on the students of restorative dentistry in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, where 110 students were enrolled. "Direct Observation of Procedural Skills" was designed in accordance with the objectives of restorative department and executed. An unstructured interview with 12 students was done to develop a valid questionnaire for the evaluation method used. All of the 4th and 5th grade students were asked to fill the questionnaire. The data were reported with descriptive statistics. Results: Seventy one percent (71%) of the students recommended this method be continued because of its positive effect on their independency and learning. Seventy six percent (76%) mentioned that this method failed to improve inter-rater reliability between the teachers. Eighty five percent (85%) believed that students should not fail the course upon failure to meet requirements for a standard treatment. It was also mentioned that it is preferred for formative rather than summative assessments. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study it can be concluded that DOPS is a suitable formative assessment method for restorative dentistry in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.