Get degree ideas using our A level explorer tool

Operating Department Practice Studies

Entry requirements


GCSE/National 4/National 5

A minimum of two GCSEs at grade 4 (C) or above including English language and maths. Key Skills/Functional Skills Level 2 in Communication and Application of Number can be accepted in place of English and maths GCSE. For Access course students, we can accept level 2 Access units in communication and maths in place of English and maths GCSEs.

UCAS Tariff

96-112

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Operating department practice

**Course overview**: As an operating department practitioner (ODP) you are a specialist vital part of the multidisciplinary perioperative theatre team, providing a high standard of patient-centred care during anaesthesia, surgery, and post anaesthetic care (recovery). You can expect to work within the whole of the perioperative environment across a variety of surgical specialities assisting anaesthetists and surgeons alongside the wider multidisciplinary team.

Our patient-centred course equips you with the knowledge, skills and understanding to ensure that you can fully contribute to healthcare delivery in a dynamic and fast-moving surgical environment. Graduates will also be eligible to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council.

You gain early exposure to practice and gain experience across a variety of specialist areas including general surgery, orthopaedic surgery, ear, nose and throat, obstetric surgery, anaesthetic and post-anaesthetic care. Over 50% of the course is within operating theatres and placements throughout the North East with supervised practice alongside experienced clinical staff and previous Teesside ODPs. You follow various shift patterns including nights and weekends to gain the maximum learning experience. You develop the essential skills and knowledge supported by evidence-based learning in the University with lectures, seminars and practical activities in our excellent clinical skills labs and simulated operating theatre. Your learning is underpinned and enhanced by the academic team’s decades of collective experience in theatre settings.

All new and continuing eligible students on this course will receive a £5,000 learning support fund each year, which is non-repayable. Eligible students can also apply for reimbursement of essential expenses for travel and accommodation to attend practice placements.

On successful completion of the course you will be eligible to apply for registration to the Health and Care Professions Council.

Please note 100% attendance is expected during this programme.

**Top 5 reasons to study this course**

1. Our bespoke simulation suite gives you realistic training experience
2. Varied and specialised training in surgical and anaesthetic roles give you valuable learning experience
3. You gain leadership and management skills and experience
4. High employability for ODPs, with varied career opportunities, includes leadership and management roles, in theatres with specialities
5. Postgraduate opportunities to develop advanced roles and surgical care practitioner skills alongside surgeons

**After the course**: A qualified ODP is trained in all areas of theatre work and can specialise in surgery, anaesthetics or post-anaesthetic care. New areas of practice are also opening up to the ODP such as accident and emergency, intensive care units and specialist theatres. Career opportunities exist within NHS hospital trusts and private hospitals, primary care trust clinics and the armed forces.

You can progress to postgraduate study to develop to an advanced role and surgical care practitioner skills alongside surgeons. You can also develop your role through teaching, or pursue theatre management roles.

Modules

Access course information through Teesside University’s website using the course page link provided (or visit www.tees.ac.uk).

Assessment methods

Access assessment information through Teesside University’s website using the course page link provided (or visit www.tees.ac.uk).

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£9,250
per year
EU
£17,000
per year
International
£17,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Teesside University

Department:

Nursing, Midwifery and Health Professions

Read full university profile

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.

78%
Operating department practice

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

85%
Staff make the subject interesting
90%
Staff are good at explaining things
89%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
92%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

87%
Library resources
93%
IT resources
85%
Course specific equipment and facilities
56%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

100%
UK students
0%
International students
17%
Male students
83%
Female students
81%
2:1 or above
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
D
B

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.

£24,000
high
Average annual salary
94%
low
Employed or in further education
96%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

57%
Health associate professionals
26%
Therapy professionals
4%
Nursing and midwifery professionals

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.

£26k

£26k

£31k

£31k

£31k

£31k

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...

Share this page

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