Operating Department Practice

This degree is designed for healthcare workers with an interest in becoming registered operating department practitioners (ODPs), able to offer compassionate, safe and effective care through the perioperative period - a time when people can be at their most vulnerable. You develop the skills to offer coordinated, patient-centred care alongside surgeons, anaesthetists and theatre nurses in a range of perioperative care settings including operating theatres, emergency departments, intensive care and recovery.

Course accreditation/endorsement

This course is accredited by the Health and Care Professions Council (the registering body). On course completion, you will be eligible to apply for registration with the HCPC as an operating department practitioner.

This course is endorsed by the College of Operating Department Practitioners.

Facilities and specialist equipment

Fully immersive simulation suites which allow you to practise your skills in ‘real-world’ situations including:

• a state-of-the-art mock operating theatre

• anaesthetic equipment

• recovery room

• immersive suite, to practise simulation safely in different environments.

Career-powered links
We currently work closely with the following practice partners:

• Bedfordshire Hospitals

• Milton Keynes Hospital

• Northampton General Hospital

• Lister Hospital

• Spire Harpenden

• Great Ormond Street Hospital

• Royal Papworth Hospital

• Harefield Hospital

• Keech Hospice Care

• Feed Up Warm Up, a homeless charity in Hertfordshire

Your student experience

Develop the knowledge, competencies and clinical skills to provide high-quality, evidence-based care and to work confidently within a multi-professional team.

Practise your skills in high-tech simulation suites, supported by staff who are healthcare professionals.

Gain hands-on experience across a range of healthcare environments.

The University organises your placements for you within local trusts and other external partners - so you don’t have to worry about sourcing your own work experience.

Extend your knowledge with field trips to the Old Operating Theatre museum and the Wellcome Collection museum and library, both in London.

Take the opportunity to learn from sector-leading guest speakers at an ODP conference hosted by the University.

Benefit from a course that offers you the support of a qualified mentor.

Hone your critical thinking and decision-making skills so you can respond quickly to complex critical situations.

Gain a HCPC-approved qualification and a skill-set much sought after in the job market.

Course modules

Year 1
Academic skills – Build the study skills you need to learn effectively, make progress and succeed. Inclusivity and diversity in care – Learn to plan and deliver patient-centred care that embodies equality, diversity and inclusion. Fundamentals of perioperative practice – Experience working within the care team, observing a range of surgical and anaesthetic interventions. Professional identities for operating department practitioners – Learn the professional values underpinning ODP and how these help develop professionalism. Sciences for perioperative practice – Explore other fields relevant to ODP including anatomy, physiology and sociology.

Year 2
Change management and innovative practice – Be able to evaluate care provision and measure results using benchmarks. Pharmacology and pathophysiology for perioperative practice – Explore the medications used in ODP settings and the care of patients with an underlying illness. Evidence-based practice for operating department practitioners – Understand the relationship between research and practice while gaining skills in critical analysis. Mental health matters – Gain an understanding of core mental health concepts so you can support patients’ or carers’ mental health needs. Advancing perioperative practice – Develop your hands-on anaesthetic and scrub skills in areas including emergency surgery, obstetrics and paediatrics.

Year 3
Emerging care roles for operating department practitioners – How to provide safe, effective and personalised patient care in emerging clinical settings such as A&E, specialist care and transplant coordination. Operating department practice project – Gather, analyse and evaluate information to answer a research question aimed at improving professional practice. Supervision and leadership for perioperative practice – Develop your understanding of what it takes to be an effective, confident ODP team leader. Medicines management and pharmacology – Calculate drug doses, administer them, monitor their effect and take prompt action if there are adverse effects.

We make every effort to ensure the information here is accurate; however, for the most up-to-date information, visit our website.

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• Health and Care Professions Council