Operating Department Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship | Operating Department Practice BSc (Hons)
3 Years Full-Time | September Start

The BSc (Hons) Operating Department Practice Integrated Degree Apprenticeship programme work-based route aims to ensure that students are able to demonstrate compassionate, safe, evidence-based and effective patient care, across the core areas of practice, at point of successful completion of the award (CODP, 2018). As an Apprentice Operating Department Practitioner (ODP). This practice module will provide you with a unique opportunity to develop skills and knowledge directly relevant to your current practice placement experiences. The practice module will both support your learning while you are in practice and provide an environment, within university, to consolidate the skills and knowledge necessary to progress effectively. By using a concept curriculum approach, the perioperative practice module will support you to learn how to become an accountable professional, and manage care, and work in teams.

During the first year, you will learn the fundamental skills that are necessary for safe, effective and professional practice across all phases of perioperative practice.

During the majority of your first year clinical placements you will return to university for two days a week to reflect on your experiences. You will learn together with your peers and examine theoretical concepts such as professionalism, interprofessional learning, medicines management and safeguarding that will enhance your practice. Seminars and workshops will focus on a range of subjects that will enhance your professional practice.

You will learn how to develop your Ongoing Record of Achievement (ORA) and how to reflect on your personal and professional development. You will learn about the importance of patient centred and recovery focussed approaches and will be asked to reflect on feedback given by Experts By Experience (EBE). These skills are the start of your development as an evidence-based practitioner.

The BSc (Hons) Operating Department Practice Integrated Degree Apprenticeship programme work-based route aims to ensure that students are able to demonstrate compassionate, safe, evidence-based and effective patient care, across the core areas of practice, at point of successful completion of the award (CODP, 2018). As an Apprentice Operating Department Practitioner (ODP), this module will provide the opportunity for you to spend time exploring the various types of evidence that Operating Departmental Practitioners (ODPs) are required to
i) find and ii) appraise iii) use when they deliver care. You will learn to explore the diverse forms of Evidence Based Practice (EBP) that impact upon perioperative practice and examine how theoretical frameworks and knowledge inform clinical decision making within the ODP role. You will learn how to use approaches to identify evidence including exploring, describing, testing and reflecting. You will use a variety of appraisal approaches to explore the research and learn to recognise the key factors relating to weaknesses and strengths with published evidence. You will gather evidence from a number of different perspectives, and these will be explored so that opportunities and limitations can be critiqued and developed.

The BSc (Hons) Operating Department Practice Integrated Degree Apprenticeship programme work-based route aims to ensure that students are able to demonstrate compassionate, safe, evidence-based and effective patient care, across the core areas of practice, at point of successful completion of the award (CODP, 2018). As an Apprentice Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) you will acquire an in-depth knowledge of anatomy, physiology and physical and mental health problems across the age spectrum. These are considered an essential basis for safe and effective practice. This module will enable you to apply biosciences to understand the determinants of health- social, psychological, behavioural, environmental and genomic factors and how they impact on health at a physical and psychological level. You will develop an understanding of the functioning of the body at different levels (cell, tissue, organ, system) and how this knowledge will assist you in delivering safe, holistic, compassionate perioperative care.
You will enhance your understanding of the structure and function of the human body by exploring the complex relationship between health, anatomy, physiology and disease. This will be achieved through an exploration of diseases and conditions that arise from a malfunction of the systems of the body which will include an element of biochemistry and genomics. Pharmacology will be examined in relation to pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. You will analyse and apply this information to help you examine the role of the ODP in anticipating the needs of patients, making care decisions and supporting an individual with illness.

During this module you will explore the following concepts:

• Body systems, altered pathology and their relationship to disease and illness
• Assessment and anticipating changing health needs
• Understanding the fundamentals of safe and quality care provision

The content of Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) Skills Module 1: Introduction to Perioperative Practice will be informed by the proficiency standards outlined in the Standards of Proficiency for Operating Department Practitioners by the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC 2023).

The BSc (Hons) Operating Department Practice Integrated Degree Apprenticeship programme work-based route aims to ensure that students are able to demonstrate compassionate, safe, evidence-based and effective patient care, across the core areas of practice, at point of successful completion of the award (CODP, 2018). As an Apprentice Operating Department Practitioner (ODP), the module will introduce you to the concepts and principles of Operating Department Practice and the proficiencies required to care for Service Users during the perioperative period and explore a range of factors which influence care provision as well as Service Users’ needs. You will learn how the role of the ODP addresses those needs within professional, ethical and legal parameters with an emphasis on ensuring Service User and environmental safety. The module will introduce you to the principles of service user safety applied to perioperative practice and to develop an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of members of the inter-professional team when caring for Service Users within the perioperative environment.

You will learn how to observe and assess people of all ages in terms of symptoms and signs of physical ill health. You will learn how to take, record and interpret a patient’s vital signs and use communication tools to support verbal and written reports. An introduction to basic medicine calculation and management will also be part of your learning. These skills and proficiencies will be supported by opportunities to participate in simulated education utilising a range of specialist technology eg laparscopic trainer and laparscopic equipment located in the clinical skills centre equipment and taught by experts. These skills are directly relevant to your practice learning and include procedures that are necessary for safe and effective patient care.

You will be introduced to research underpinning fundamental Operating Department Practice care. You will be equipped with foundational knowledge of research concepts to enable you to make judgements about the quality of the research literature. You will be taught by academics who are research engaged and they will help you to begin to understand Operating Department Practice as an evidence based profession.

Before your first placement you will complete a number of mandatory requirements, ie Basic life support moving and handling, cardiopulmonary resusitation, which will enable you to practice with confidence and ensure patient safety. The learning opportunities in this module are designed to support you to develop knowledge, which will inform the attainment of communication and relationship management skills and Operating Department procedures as identified in Part 1 of your Ongoing Record of Achievement (ORA).

The BSc (Hons) Operating Department Practice Integrated Degree Apprenticeship programme work-based route aims to ensure that students are able to demonstrate compassionate, safe, evidence-based and effective patient care, across the core areas of practice, at point of successful completion of the award (CODP, 2018). As an Apprentice Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) Skills 2: Principles of Perioperative Practice will build on the concept of communication and safe and effective practice which you have been introduced in the previous skills module. You will further develop your communication and clinical skills relevant to your practice placement experiences. You will continue to learn a range of skills that are necessary for safe, effective and professional practice. You will have the opportunity to participate in simulated education utilising a range of specialist technology e.g. laparoscopic trainer and laparoscopic equipment located in the clinical skills centre equipment and taught by experts. This content will be taught and facilitated by a specialist module team of lecturers in perioperative practice.

You will consider and develop your skills, acting with integrity, applying the principles of the Health and Care Professions Council’s (HCPC) Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics (HCPC 2023). You will demonstrate your ability to practise in a holistic, individualised, person centred, non-judgemental, caring and sensitive manner, acknowledging the diverse needs of a contemporary society. You will continue to develop your understanding of team working and its importance in operating department practice. You will learn about the importance of person centred care and effective communication skills. These learning opportunities will continue to help you gather evidence of your abilities and confidence and will inform your attainment of communication and safe and effective practice as identified as part 1 in your Ongoing Record of Achievement (ORA).

Academic skills when studying away from your home country can differ due to cultural and language differences in teaching and assessment practices. This module is designed to support your transition in the use and practice of technical language and subject specific skills around assessments and teaching provision in your chosen subject. The overall aim of this module is to develop your abilities to read and study effectively for academic purposes; to develop your skills in analysing and using source material in seminars and academic writing and to develop your use and application of language and communications skills to a higher level.

The topics you will cover on the module include:

• Understanding assignment briefs and exam questions.
• Developing academic writing skills, including citation, paraphrasing, and summarising.
• Practising ‘critical reading’ and ‘critical writing’
• Planning and structuring academic assignments (e.g. essays, reports and presentations).
• Avoiding academic misconduct and gaining credit by using academic sources and referencing effectively.
• Listening skills for lectures.
• Speaking in seminar presentations.
• Presenting your ideas
• Giving discipline-related academic presentations, experiencing peer observation, and receiving formative feedback.
• Speed reading techniques.
• Developing self-reflection skills.