Course summary

Operating Department Practice (ODP) is an exciting and rewarding career where you work within the perioperative theatre environment caring for patients undergoing surgery. Operating Department Practitioners (ODPs) are a crucial part of the inter-professional team interacting and supporting a variety of patients throughout their perioperative journey. The role of the ODP is continually evolving beyond the borders of the operating department. ODPs are increasingly adapting their range of skills and abilities to develop their practice to work in non-traditional acute areas such as the emergency department, Interventional Radiology, cardiac catheterisation, MRI and CT scanning as well as endoscopy units. The skills you will learn and the knowledge you will gain whilst studying towards either the ODP DipHE or BSc (Hons) will be facilitated through simulated activities such as role play and clinical skills development. These will take place in facilities which replicate those found in modern hospitals, include a mock operating theatre and scrub room, mock ward setting, high dependency bays, and utilising high-tech manikins which respond to the treatment provided.

• Accredited by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) enabling you to register as an operating department practitioner upon successful completion (additional requirements and costs may apply).

• Home students can apply to receive a payment of £5,000 a year through the NHS Learning Support Fund that does not need to be paid back, with additional bursaries for students incurring childcare costs

• State-of-the-art teaching facilities including mock operating theatre and scrub room, ambulance, high-tech manikins, hospital wards, critical care settings and other real-life environments relevant to practice.

• Teaching and learning is supported by highly trained, clinically current and experienced staff, clinical partners, service users and peer-supported learning both from fellow ODP students and inter-professionally with students from a range of health courses across the school. Our learning through exploration approach provides a hands-on style of learning which provides context and is designed to prepare you for real-world situations.

• Successful completion of the course will allow you to contribute fully as part of the perioperative multidisciplinary team in all areas of operating department practice. In the mandatory practice placements throughout your programme (sourced for you by the university), you will apply theory to practice on a daily basis, providing you with a platform to grow in confidence, develop your clinical skills and abilities to enable you to become a safe, confident and competent practitioner. As the course leads to eligibility to apply for professional registration with HCPC, you are required to meet attendance requirements both at university and on placement.

• By studying two years full-time, you can complete the DipHE and in three years, you can complete the Operating Department Practice BSc (Hons). Both of these awards lead to eligibility to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) for registration as an ODP (subject to additional costs). With the DipHE you are eligible to apply for registration with the HCPC after two years and seek employment, so you can enter the workforce more quickly than degree students. The BSc can increase your employability opportunities following successful completion of the qualification. It can enable faster career progression by providing the foundational skills in leadership and management, the surgical first assist role, coaching and supporting learners in practice.