A career in healthcare as an Operating Department Practitioner
George McSharry, a Coventry University graduate, qualified as an Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) in 2013. After university, he started practice at University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire (UHWC) in day surgery, working his way up to main theatres, and then in A&E. As well as teaching on the BSc Operating Department Practice at Coventry University, he still practises in A&E at the weekends, with a focus on anaesthetics and trauma.
Here he tells us about one of the less well-known roles in the healthcare team.
What does an Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) do?
We work in the perioperative environment across three areas, so we're trained in anaesthetics, surgery and recovery.
Anaesthetics
In this area, the ODP works alongside the Anaesthetist, forming part of the Anaesthesia Team. The ODP is responsible for preparing and maintaining anaesthetic equipment, monitoring the patient’s vital signs and assisting with the administration of anaesthesia. They ensure that the patient is stable throughout the procedure, providing essential support to the Anaesthetist in managing the patient.
Surgery
In this area, the ODP is responsible for ensuring that all sterile equipment is prepared and ready for the specific surgical procedures. A thorough understanding of the procedure is essential, the ODP will remain ‘scrubbed in’ alongside the surgeon as part of the sterile team. The role includes passing instruments to the surgeon in a timely and efficient manner, while also maintaining an accurate count of all instruments, swabs and materials used throughout the operation to ensure patient safety.
Recovery
In this area, the ODP is responsible for caring for the patient as they wake from anaesthesia and begin their recovery. This involves providing one-to-one support, ensuring the patient is comfortable, safe and closely monitored. Patients may be distressed or disoriented, so the ODP must ensure their airway is maintained, they are pain-free and there is no excessive bleeding. The ODP also administers prescribed medications and fluids as necessary. Once the patient has safely recovered, they are transferred to the ward for further care.
What happens when you graduate with your ODP degree?
So, once you graduate, you apply to be an ODP. You'll apply to be one or more of those roles in a theatre department. So, for example, it could be aesthetics only, or it could be anaesthetics and recovery. It could be scrub (surgery role) only. So, when you apply for a job, it will be specific to one of those roles and you'll be called an ODP.
Where else in the world can you work as an ODP?
So, it's not just in England; you can work in some states of America, some areas of Australia, and some countries in Europe as a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registered ODP. There are some countries and some areas that you might have to do a conversion course, but you can work abroad.
What about long-term career options?
There are a few career options. In terms of long-term career progression, you could stay as an ODP, work your way up into management, into theatre managers and more senior roles.
You can also do additional academic qualifications to become a Physician Associate in Anaesthesia (PAa), someone who delivers the anaesthetic. Or you could be a surgical first assistant, someone who does minor operations in clinics and operating theatres.
Both of these roles will have an ODP to assist them and often they are people who were ODPs in the past and have gone back to university to do additional qualifications. Often, having the ODP qualification is essential; you can't just go straight into being a surgical first assistant, you have to do something else first, so ODP is a great stepping stone for that.
What sort of person makes a good ODP?
So, you'll have to have good communication skills and good team-working skills. You're going to be a part of a multidisciplinary team, so you're going to be with support workers, consultant surgeons and anaesthetists, junior doctors, nurses, radiographers, midwives and ward nurses. You're going to be part of a big team, so you need to be able to communicate effectively and it’s one of the HCPC standards.
You need to be problem solver. As an ODP, often you're the person others look to if something's broken or something’s not working in the theatre environment. You’ll often be the person who's asked to fix things, for example, an anaesthetic machine. So, you will get to solve problems in that kind of way.
You’ll also need to be a people person and develop the confidence to deal with people who might be feeling vulnerable. You'll be dealing with members of the public on a daily basis; some of them have been through potentially life-changing operations. It's not just another patient, not just another operation list, you need to be empathetic and work with them to try to calm them down.
Find out more about the BSc (Hons) Operating Department Practice (ODP) at Coventry University and the ODP role.
