Operating Department Practice

Operating Department Practice (ODP) is an exciting and rewarding career where you work within the perioperative theatre environment caring for patients undergoing surgery.

OPDs, unique among undergraduate Allied Health Professions in the UK, receive specialised training for operating theatre roles. Throughout your training, you'll develop autonomy as a practitioner, collaborating with anaesthetists, surgeons, and other professionals to prepare and assist in surgical and anaesthetic procedures, thereby enhancing patient care experiences.

ODPs play a crucial and unique role in patient care. They are responsible for a wide spectrum of tasks essential for the smooth running of perioperative environments. As an ODP you may prepare and maintain operating theatres, ensure the availability of equipment and drugs, manage patient safety and support patients' emotional and physical needs throughout their surgical journey, from pre-anaesthesia to post-anaesthetic care in recovery. Staying calm in pressured environments, ensuring safety and ensuring everyone has a voice to speak up when needed are all vital skills you’ll be developing on the course.

• Leads to eligibility to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) for registration as an ODP (please see our website for more information).

• You will learn through simulated activities such as role play and clinical skills development.

• Facilities replicate those found in hospitals, including a mock operating theatre and scrub room, mock ward setting, high dependency bays, and utilising high-tech manikins which respond to the treatment provided.

• Learn to collaborate and thrive as an ODP and within multidisciplinary teams to coordinate safe, evidenced-based care delivery.

• Practice placements sourced for you by the university, providing you with opportunities to develop clinical skills and become a safe, confident and competent practitioner.

• Study one academic module at a time, with five weeks of learning followed by one week of assessment per module.

• All eligible students on this course can apply for a minimum payment from the government of £5,000 per year. You can apply for additional payments if you incur childcare costs.

Why you should study this course
Careers in operating department practice enable you to develop a mix of technical, management and communication skills to support a diverse range of patients during their most vulnerable moments.

• The role of ODPs is dynamic and varied. Increasingly, ODPs are also adapting their knowledge and skills to work in non-traditional acute settings like emergency departments, intensive care, interventional radiology, cardiac catheterisation, MRI, CT scanning, and endoscopy units.

• Teaching and learning are supported by highly trained, clinically current and experienced staff, clinical partners, service users, fellow ODP students and those from other health courses across the school.

• We focus on your future employability, offering you insight into roles in areas such as surgical first assistance, critical care, leadership and management.

Gain the skills and experience to transform lives, communities and the future of healthcare delivery. We aim to empower you to become a stand-out healthcare professional, capable, competent and confident in your field and role within the wider healthcare team.

While continuously developing your sense of professional identity as an operating department practitioner from day one, you'll also collaborate with learners from other School of Health and Care fields, learning in an environment that puts inclusivity, diversity and dignity at its heart.

Please visit our website for the most up-to-date information.

Course Modules

Year one

• Fundamentals of Surgery

• Fundamentals of Anaesthetics and Post-Anaesthetic Care

• Placement 1: Surgical Practice

• Placement 2: Anaesthetic Practice

• Becoming a Professional Practitioner

• Evidence: Your Profession in a Global Context

Year two

• Developing Surgical Care

• Developing Anaesthetic Care

• Placement 3: Developing Anaesthetic Practice

• Placement 4: Developing Surgical Practice
  * Pharmacology in Perioperative Practice

• Exploring Knowledge Through Curiosity

Final year

• Placement 5: Complex Anaesthetic Practice

• Placement 6: Complex Surgical Practice - This module is currently under review and may be updated, subject to formal approval. The change reflects ongoing course development and feedback from students and clinical trusts, ensuring alignment with professional practice standards. If approved, the revised module aim will be published on our website and relevant students and applicants will be informed.

• Complex Perioperative Patient Care

• Post Anaesthetic Care

• Leading for the Future as a Health and Care Professional

• The Evidence-based Practitioner: Professional Project

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated. Before accepting any offers, please check the website for the most up to date course content.

*For further information please check the course page on the Coventry University website.

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module. Assessment methods may include:

• coursework
• practice placement
• formal examinations
• Virtual Simulated Placements
• simulations
• Objective Structured Clinical Examinations
• presentations.

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.

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

• Operating Department Practitioners, College of
• Health and Care Professions Council