Objective　To investigate the application value of standard operation procedure (SOP) of thoracentesis in clinical skills training for undergraduates. Methods　In this study

63 undergraduates were randomized into two groups

with 29 students in experimental group receiving SOP training

and 34 students in control group trained by traditional teaching methods. The performance of the two groups at different stages of thoracentesis were compared after the training. SPSS 19.0 was used to analyze the assessment data. Results　The experimental group was significantly superior to the control group in the stages of puncture operation and post-puncture operation [(33.76±2.46) points vs. (31.91±3.60) points

P=0.02; (7.93±1.53) points vs. (6.79±1.84) points

P=0.01]

as well as the total scores [(82.59±4.14) points vs. (79.26±4.94) points

P=0.01]. Conclusion It's suggested that application of SOP may improve the effectiveness of thoracentesis training

and organized teaching methods are essential for clinical skills training.