Operating Department Practice Degree Apprenticeship

Program Overview

The Operating Department Practice BSc (Hons) Degree Apprenticeship prepares students for the demanding role of an Operating Department Practitioner (ODP). Through a blend of practical learning and theoretical knowledge, apprentices develop the expertise to manage specialist equipment, care for patients during surgery, and contribute to improved healthcare outcomes. The program culminates in an independent assessment and registration with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC), qualifying apprentices to practice as ODPs.

Program Outline

Operating Department Practice, BSc (Hons) - Degree Apprenticeship

Degree Overview:

The Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) pre-registration course prepares students for demanding clinical practice, promoting continuous improvement in care delivery and continuing learning beyond registration.

Objectives:

• Develop professionalism and evidence-based practice in the clinical setting.
• Introduce fundamental skills required for perioperative practice in the operating department environment.
• Focus on specialist areas of anaesthetic, surgery, and post-anaesthetic care.
• Study three key concepts:
• Pathogenesis of disease
• Pharmacology within the operating department
• Contribution of research to Operating Department Practice.
• Develop expertise in managing specialist equipment and materials in a highly technical environment.

Outline:

Year 1:

• Fundamentals of Operating Department Practice: Introduces core concepts and issues related to operating department practice, demonstrating knowledge of ODP roles within the multi-disciplinary team during the perioperative period.
• Operating Department Practice Clinical Competencies: Develops practical understanding of core concepts and issues related to Operating Department Practice and their application in a clinical healthcare setting.
Progresses towards demonstrating competence in a range of skills in the role of anaesthetic, surgical, and post-anaesthetic care practitioner.
• Foundations of Professional Healthcare Practice: Establishes principles of professional healthcare practice, developing understanding of ethical and moral dilemmas encountered in healthcare practice and facilitating an understanding of the scope and limitations of professional practice.
• Application of Anatomy and Physiology to Operating Department Practice: Develops understanding of how the human body and its organ systems develop and function in normal health.
• Learning in a Healthcare Practice and University Setting: Instils a sense of ownership over learning and developmental needs, requiring demonstration of achievements.

Year 2:

• Development of Operating Department Practice: Further develops knowledge acquired during the first year of study by augmenting knowledge and key skills required for safe perioperative practice as an anaesthetic, surgical, and post-anaesthetic care practitioner.
• Operating Department Practice Clinical Competencies: Further develops skills acquired in the first year of clinical practice placements by augmenting knowledge and key skills required for safe perioperative practice as an anaesthetic, surgical, and post-anaesthetic care practitioner.
Explores surgical and non-surgical treatment modalities of disease processes and perioperative care strategies for patients experiencing a range of long-term conditions. Introduces concepts of pharmacology and the effects of drugs on the physiology of patients.
• Evidence for Practice: Underpins the delivery of evidence-based healthcare, helping acquire knowledge and skills to find, appraise, and evaluate the best evidence from research to answer a specific clinical question.

Year 3:

• Enhancement of Operating Department Practice: Equips students with a range of enhanced anaesthetic and surgical clinical skills, appropriate underpinning knowledge and contextual awareness, to practice effectively as a full member of the multidisciplinary team within the perioperative environment.
• Transitioning to Operating Department Practitioner: Prepares students for assessment of knowledge, skills, and behaviours as identified within professional standards.
• Work-Based Practice Project: Enables students to apply a structured model of change as a strategy to improving patient care and service delivery within clinical practice for their work-based practice project.
Encourages collaborative and independent work to test ideas by trialling a change and assessing its impact.

Teaching:

• Taught by highly experienced clinicians and academics who carry out research and additional studies.
• Places great emphasis on practical learning, central to student development.
• Students assist surgeons and anaesthetists with intricate and complex procedures and work alongside nursing colleagues providing a high standard of patient-focused care during anaesthesia, surgery, and the post-anaesthetic care period.

Careers:

• Operating Department Practitioners (ODPs) are registered healthcare professionals specialising in caring for people of all ages before, during, and after surgery.
• ODPs mainly work in operating departments.
• They work alongside other professionals (such as doctors and nurses) and take a lead role in ensuring a patient is safe during each stage of a patient’s journey through the operating theatre.

Other:

• The course is accredited by the College of Operating Department Practitioners (CODP).
• Successful apprentices can apply to the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) for registration as an Operating Department Practitioner, which is a requirement to practice under the protected title of Operating Department Practitioner.
• Students have access to state-of-the-art clinical skills laboratories and anatomy labs.
• Learning comprises a mixture of lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical sessions, and independent study.
• Independent study is an important aspect of the degree course.
• Learning in the clinical environment is central to the course and integral to student development.
• All apprentices sit an independent end-point assessment (EPA), assessing all the knowledge, skills, and behaviours learned throughout the apprenticeship.
• Students can remotely link to the university’s network account, the library's electronic resources, and some core software applications.
• Apprentices follow an approved study program, which means they’ll gain a nationally-recognised qualification at the end of their apprenticeship.
• They’ll study a broad range of skills and knowledge that can be applied to their professional practice.
• Employees should demonstrate confidence, compassion, competence, and effective judgment; being responsible for their decisions.
• Successful apprentices will continually improve outcomes for patients, through their own continuous professional development.
• Employers get bright students with the core skills, knowledge, and work-readiness to help contribute to their business.