Operating Department Practitioner (Integrated Degree) Apprenticeship

Immersive learning

Our £5.8m Centre for Health Innovation includes a simulated operating theatre and other immersive spaces where you’ll practise your skills

Extra opportunities

Includes a professional qualification in intermediate life support, the chance to work with real service users and collaborate with other students

Hands-on experience

You will spend around 50% of your time in clinical practice

Learn the skills needed to deliver essential services in the operating theatre and ensure patients receive high standards of care.

As an operating department practitioner (ODP), you’ll follow the patient’s journey from when they are anaesthetised through to their recovery. You’ll scrub up and prepare the surgical equipment, help manage the patient’s airway and play a major role in keeping them safe.

The apprenticeship will involve spending half your time in clinical practice, working under supervision alongside other ODPs, surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and other allied health professionals. You will be employed by an NHS trust, but may do some of your training at other hospital settings.

During blocks of time on the University campus, you will have a mixture of lectures, workshops, clinical skills sessions and simulation-based learning. You’ll get to practise your skills on manikin patients in our cutting edge simulated operating theatre.

You’ll assess them, while also inserting cannulas and catheters. There will also be simulated emergencies, where the patient deteriorates and you have to manage the situation.

We offer lots of other opportunities, including the chance to work with real service users on campus.

As the degree apprenticeship is accredited by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), you will be eligible to apply to become a registered operating department practitioner once you graduate.

Who is it for?

This apprenticeship is aimed at people who may have some healthcare experience and want to become a registered operating department practitioner (ODP). As an apprentice, you will undertake the programme over a three-year period.

Your skills will be in high demand as a registered ODP and there are lots of career opportunities. With further study, you could progress into roles such as becoming a surgical care practitioner, advanced care practitioner, anaesthetic assistant or physician’s assistant.

On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: BSc (Hons) Operating Department Practice Degree Apprenticeship

Location

Centre for Health Innovation Stafford

Duration

Typical duration for this apprenticeship is 3 years.

Start date(s)

Typical start date for this course is September.

Enquire now

Course content

Modules

Year 1 Modules:

Clinical Practice, Wellbeing and Simulation Part 1
Fundamental Clinical Skills
Fundamental Professional Context
Fundamentals of Bioscience and Pharmacology
Fundamentals of the Operating Department Practitioner

Year 2 Modules:

Clinical Practice, Wellbeing and Simulation Part 2
Developing the Role of the Operating Department Practitioner
Holistic Care across the Lifespan
Introduction to Research Methods
Post-Anaesthetic Care and Advanced Pharmacology

Year 3 Modules:

Clinical Practice, Wellbeing and Simulation Part 3
Enhanced Operating Department Practice and Emergency Care
Leadership and Service Development
Research in Practice
Transition to an Autonomous Practitioner

Entry requirements

Level 2 maths and English (GCSE, functional skills or equivalent)
112 UCAS points or equivalent experience
Evidence of recent study

Fees

For levy-paying organisations the cost is paid from their digital account at a rate of £26,000. For non-levy paying organisations the cost is £1,300.

Delivery and assessment

Delivery

Teaching and learning is divided between university and work-based learning. At university, learning is structured so that each module studied builds on the previous module. Therefore, knowledge and understanding of the concepts underpinning operating department practice develops, apprentices will be exposed to more challenging and complex learning. Course content is delivered using a combination of taught sessions and a case-based approach. Clinical scenarios provide the trigger for learning based on the cases the apprentices are likely to encounter in the work-based placements. The benefit of this approach is that learning will be in the context of clinical practice, developing key learning skills (such as searching for evidence, critical appraisal, problem-solving) which are essential to professional practice; apprentices will work both independently and as part of team which will enhance communication skills; and learning will take place with and from members of other professional groups.

Clinical skills are developed and practiced in our university-based operating theatre. Key skills such as scrubbing, gowning and gloving, and airway management, are practiced in a controlled environment before putting these skills into practice during work-based placements. Work-based learning forms approximately 50% of the course, where development is supported by a team of qualified ODPs and theatre nurses who will assess clinical competence at key stages in the course.

Some of the modules you will study are common to other health professions’ curricula (e.g. research, leadership and management, some clinical skills). Inter-professional learning forms an essential part of our curriculum and a part of the programme will take place in an inter-professional environment. Here apprentices will learn about the roles of the other professions which will enhance team working and patient care.

The curriculum is developed around four key themes which are embedded into every module:

Evidence-based practice is essential to high quality patient care. Ability to search for, analyse and critique clinical evidence and research will develop as the course progresses
Patient safety is paramount. Human factors and ergonomics are studied throughout the course and apprentices will reflect on how their actions and the actions of others in the operating department impact on patient safety
Communication in several different forms with people with specialist and non-specialist knowledge regarding effective patient care
Studying health and social inequality will develop understanding of the links between health and a range of social determinants, such as economic and environmental factors

Assessment

A variety of assessment methods are used throughout the course:

Assignments/Reflection: these are usually in essay format of varying length. Assignments must be presented in an appropriate scholarly format which develops academic writing skills.
Seminar/Presentation: the research, planning and presentation of findings to a small audience.
Examinations: either multiple-choice or oral (viva voce) examinations.
Drug Calculations: accurate calculation of drug dosages and preparation of medications will be assessed via the on-line package Safe Medicate. A drug calculations assessment is undertaken in each of the three years where the expectation is that 100% is achieved in year three.
Work-based assessment: demonstrates fitness to practice as an Operating Department Practitioner as a requirement for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council. The apprentice is assessed against profession-specific competences by a team of practice-based ODPs and theatre nurses in each of the core areas of operating department practice (i.e. anaesthesia, surgery and recovery).

The Level 6 Specialised Perioperative Practice (Degree Apprenticeship) module has been developed to incorporate the End-Point Assessment activity which is a mandatory requirement of the degree apprenticeship standard. To access the End-Point Assessment, you must have successfully completed all other assessments at levels 4, 5 and 6.

Learning support

In addition to the excellent support you will receive from your course teaching team, our central Academic Skills team provides group and one-to-one help to support your learning in a number of areas. These include study skills (including reading, note-taking and presentation skills); written English (including punctuation and grammatical accuracy); academic writing (including how to reference); research skills; critical thinking and understanding arguments; and revision, assessment and examination skills (including time management).

Additional support

Our AccessAbility Services support students with additional needs such as sensory impairment or learning difficulties. You will also have full access to our support services such as Student Guidance.

Feedback

Examination feedback may take a variety of formats. However, as a minimum, generic feedback will be made available to all students who take written examinations.

Responsibilities

The employer must not ask the apprentice to contribute financially to the direct cost of learning
Ensure apprentices are given a minimum of 6 hours per week in off-the-job training
Enter into a contract with University of Staffordshire
Participate in reviews with the apprentice and university, providing evidence and feedback on progress at work and success in meeting apprenticeship milestones
Provide a safe, healthy and supportive environment, which meets the needs of the apprentice
Provide apprentices with a contract of employment for the duration of the apprenticeship on the first day of their apprenticeship and be paid at least a wage consistent with the law for both the time they are in work and in off-the-job learning
Provide the apprentice with paid time to attend off-the-job training, including additional support for English and Maths, or support accessed for learning difficulties and/or disabilities
Recognise that the apprentice must complete the apprenticeship within their working hours
Support the apprentice to gain new skills

A citizen of a country within the European Economic Area (EEA) or have the right of abode in the UK and have been ordinarily resident in the EEA for at least the previous three years on the first day of learning
Able to complete the apprenticeship in contracted working hours
Be an employee (have a contract of employment for the duration of the apprenticeship) on the first day of their apprenticeship and be paid at least a wage consistent with the law for both the time they are in work and in off-the-job learning
Be in a new job role (nine months or less), or in an existing job role, where significant new knowledge and skills are needed - employer statement of justification needed (relevant to the apprenticeship)
Be in full-time employment for at least 30 hours a week (37.5 for nursing apprenticeships)
Has the right to work in England
Maintain a safe, healthy and supportive environment, which meets your needs
Not be enrolled on another apprenticeship at the same time
Participate in reviews with the employer and university, providing evidence and feedback on progress at work and success in meeting apprenticeship milestones

Administer the funding and running of the apprenticeship standard to an acceptable standard of quality and in compliance with the ESFAs requirements
Agree jointly between the university, the employer and apprentice, an individual learning plan (ILP) ensuring that satisfactory progress is achieved and to ensure that the contents of the ILP fulfil the requirements of the apprenticeship standard
Provide a safe, healthy and supportive learning environment, which meets the needs of the apprentice
Provide off-the-job learning and assessment and oversee the on-the-job skills development as detailed in the ILP
Provide support on the selection of the endpoint assessor, if applicable. The endpoint assessment will be completed by the learning provider for all integrated degrees

Careers

Operating Department Practitioners (ODPs) are registered healthcare professionals specialising in caring for people of all ages before, during & after surgery. ODPs therefore 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.

Enquire

To join a higher degree apprenticeship programme or recruit an apprentice for your business, enquire with us today.