Operating Department Practice

Operating department practice is a clinical healthcare profession concerned with the care and safety of patients throughout their surgical journey. Operating department practitioners (ODPs) work in hospital theatres and related clinical areas, preparing and supporting patients before, during and after surgery, assisting surgeons and anaesthetists with technical procedures, and managing the complex equipment and environments on which safe surgical practice depends. The profession requires not only technical clinical competence but also the ability to remain calm, focused and communicative in high-pressure environments where patient safety is paramount.

At Anglia Ruskin University this highly practical programme develops your clinical skills through a curriculum that gives you responsibility for patients' welfare at every stage of their journey through the surgical environment. You will learn to assess patients, to understand the physiological and psychological impacts of surgery and anaesthesia, and to work effectively as part of a multi-professional theatre team including surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and other healthcare professionals. The programme runs full time over three years and includes substantial clinical placement hours, during which you work in real operating departments under professional supervision, developing the practical skills and professional judgement that the role demands.

You will develop competence in anaesthetic practice, scrub practice (assisting with surgical procedures directly), post-anaesthesia recovery care, and the safe management of surgical instruments, equipment and environments.

Graduates from operating department practice programmes register with the Health and Care Professions Council as Operating Department Practitioners and work across NHS trusts, private hospitals and day surgery units. The profession offers progression into specialist roles in areas such as cardiac surgery, neurosurgery or anaesthetic practice, as well as into management, education and research. Postgraduate study is also available for ODPs who wish to develop specialist clinical expertise or move into advanced practice.