Operating Department Practice
Entry requirements
A level
Access to HE Diploma
The Access to HE Diploma in a Health or Science related subject to include 15 credits at Distinction and 30 credits at Merit
GCSE/National 4/National 5
5 GCSEs at grade 4 / C or above to include English, Mathematics and Science.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
to include 14 points at Higher level.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
in a Health or Sport based subject
Scottish Higher
UCAS Tariff
[1] 4 qualifications for tariff points allowed (excluding general studies) [2] Must include one qualification of 40 points in a Health, Sport or Science based subject [3] May also include AS level and EPQ
You may also need to…
Attend an interview
About this course
**Operating Department Practice (ODP) is an exciting and rewarding career where you work within the perioperative theatre environment caring for patients undergoing surgery.**
Operating Department Practitioners (ODPs) are a crucial part of the inter-professional team interacting and supporting a variety of patients throughout their perioperative journey. The role of the ODP is continually evolving beyond the borders of the operating department. ODPs are increasingly adapting their range of skills and abilities to develop their practice to work in non-traditional acute areas such as the emergency department, Interventional Radiology, cardiac catheterisation, MRI and CT scanning as well as endoscopy units.
The skills you will learn and the knowledge you will gain whilst studying towards either the ODP DipHE or BSc (Hons) will be facilitated through simulated activities such as role play and clinical skills development. These will take place in facilities which replicate those found in modern hospitals, include a mock operating theatre and scrub room, mock ward setting, high dependency bays, and utilising high-tech manikins which respond to the treatment provided.
- Accredited by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) enabling you to register as an operating department practitioner upon successful completion (additional requirements and costs may apply).
- Home students can apply to receive a payment of £5,000 a year through the NHS Learning Support Fund that does not need to be paid back, with additional bursaries for students incurring childcare costs
- State-of-the-art teaching facilities including mock operating theatre and scrub room, ambulance, high-tech manikins, hospital wards, critical care settings and other real-life environments relevant to practice.
**Key Benefits**
- Teaching and learning is supported by highly trained, clinically current and experienced staff, clinical partners, service users and peer-supported learning both from fellow ODP students and inter-professionally with students from a range of health courses across the school. Our learning through exploration approach provides a hands-on style of learning which provides context and is designed to prepare you for real-world situations.
- Successful completion of the course will allow you to contribute fully as part of the perioperative multidisciplinary team in all areas of operating department practice. In the mandatory practice placements throughout your programme (sourced for you by the university), you will apply theory to practice on a daily basis, providing you with a platform to grow in confidence, develop your clinical skills and abilities to enable you to become a safe, confident and competent practitioner. As the course leads to eligibility to apply for professional registration with HCPC, you are required to meet attendance requirements both at university and on placement.
- By studying two years full-time, you can complete the DipHE and in three years, you can complete the Operating Department Practice BSc (Hons). Both of these awards lead to eligibility to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) for registration as an ODP (subject to additional costs). With the DipHE you are eligible to apply for registration with the HCPC after two years and seek employment, so you can enter the workforce more quickly than degree students. The BSc can increase your employability opportunities following successful completion of the qualification. It can enable faster career progression by providing the foundational skills in leadership and management, the surgical first assist role, coaching and supporting learners in practice.
Modules
Year One
Year one of both the DipHE and BSc courses introduces the three roles of an ODP. This includes anaesthetics, surgery and recovery.
Before the placement module, key principles in safe and effective patient care are taught within the first semester. We aim to develop you into a confident and competent student practitioner.
Modules
Pathophysiology Applied to Operating Department Practice - 10 credits
Principles of Anaesthetics and Anaesthesia - 20 credits
Principles of Surgery - 10 credits
Anaesthetic Practice - 20 credits
Surgical Practice - 20 credits
Health and Wellbeing in the Community - 20 credits
Foundations of Evidence-Informed Practice - 20 credits
Year Two
Year two of both the DipHE and BSc courses explores advanced anaesthetics and surgery, developing your skills and knowledge gained in year one.
You will now be working towards becoming independent student practitioners experiencing patients with more complex needs, for example in the emergency department and emergency theatre.
Modules
Developing Surgical Care in Practice - 20 credits
Developing Anaesthetic and Post-Anaesthetic Care in Practice - 20 credits
Developing Surgical Care - 20 credits
Developing Anaesthetic and Post-Anaesthetic Care - 30 credits
Developing Evidence-Informed Practice - 10 credits
Exploring Professional and Ethical Issues in Practice - 20 credits
Final Year (BSc only)
The final year of the BSc (Hons) course builds on the knowledge, skills and abilities developed in years one and two to enhance your experiences in more acute and challenging clinical, managerial and coaching roles as well as developing a more in-depth understanding of evidence-based practice.
Modules
Leadership and Management for Healthcare Professionals - 20 credits
Enhanced Anaesthetics and Critical Care - 20 credits
Advanced Surgical Practice - 40 credits
Evidence-based Project - 20 credits
Transition to the Accountable Practitioner - 20 credits
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 full module details please check the course page on the Coventry University website.
Assessment methods
This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.
Assessment methods include:
Academic coursework
Online examinations
Viva voce (oral interviews/discussions)
Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE)
Poster presentations (individual and group)
Work-based practical observations.
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.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Coventry University
School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Health sciences (non-specific)
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Health sciences (non-specific)
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Health sciences (non-specific)
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£24k
£28k
£30k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Explore these similar courses...
This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Course location and department:
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
Have a question about this info? Learn more here