Pioneering ODP degree first in Yorkshire
Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:20:00 BST
Hudds one of the first Uni’s in the country and first in Yorkshire to offer Operating Department Practice degree
THE University of Huddersfield will pioneer the transformation of an important but unsung health care discipline into a graduate-level profession.
Contrary to popular belief, the experts who provide assistance to surgeons before, during and after operations are not invariably nurses but are often specially-trained operating department practitioners, or ODPs.
“It is a bit of a hidden profession,” admits Moira Tyas, a practitioner herself, who is admissions tutor for ODP studies at the University of Huddersfield. “As a patient in theatre you think all the people are nurses or medics.”
But a Diploma in Operating Department Practice has been a popular course at the University for six years and has been notable for exceptionally-high employment rates among ex-students. Now it is to be transformed into a three-year BSc (Hons) degree course, offering 56 places.
Huddersfield is one of the first universities in the country and the first in Yorkshire to offer a fully-validated ODP degree. And financial backing from the region’s Strategic Health Authority means that successful applicants to the course, which begins in September 2013, will pay no fees. Also, bursaries to cover living costs will be available to eligible students.
Pictured above with Steven Brown, Course Leader for the new ODP degree, are University of Huddersfield students Vicky Armitage and Frances Rogers
Steven Brown is Course Leader for the new ODP degree and he explained that the decision to move from a two-year diploma to a three-year BSc was in part a response to the College of Operating Department’s moves to develop the profession. It mirrors the transformation of nursing into an all-graduate profession.
“Over the years, the role of an ODP has developed,” said Steven. “For example, practitioners are far more involved in management, evidence-based practice and advanced skills around anaesthetics. These are all fully reflected in our new curriculum".
“The transition to a degree course will enhance the professional standing of ODPs,” added Moira Tyas, “but it will be of huge benefit to future employers as well, because of the extended skills of graduates.”
Steven Brown explained that the new degree course is built around the clinical roles of ODPs.
“But because it’s a degree we have built in more critical analysis, plus leadership and research skills.”
During their course, ODP students will spend 60 per cent of their time on placement, at hospitals in all of the NHS trusts in West Yorkshire.
