By Dr Nicky Eddison, Jane Minton, and Dr Ros Leslie
Operating department practitioners (ODPs) are vital members of the multidisciplinary team. The profession has been regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council since 2004 in the UK and was recognised as an Allied Health profession in 20171. Unusually for Allied Health Professionals, ODPs are employed exclusively in hospitals. Although registration as an AHP has been relatively recent, the profession has a long history with links to the theatre technician developed in cooperation with the British Medical Association in the 1940s1.
ODPs are often described as having “the most rewarding job that most people have never heard of”, as many people assume that staff in an operating theatre are scrub nurses or doctors2,3. However, ODPs are the only healthcare professionals trained specifically to care for patients in the operating theatre. Each day they prepare and maintain operating theatres. Checking medical equipment like anaesthetic machines and vital signs monitors as well as ensuring the availability and sterility of all equipment and ensuring that it is always accounted for. They support patients’ emotional and physical well-being throughout the surgical episode from anaesthetics, through surgery and into recovery.
At The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, we employ 63 ODPs who work across 30 theatres in a wide range of specialities, including Pre-Assessment and Ophthalmology. They deliver a 24-hour, 7 days per-week emergency service for both surgery and maternity, as well as responding to the need for their expert skills in areas outside of theatres, such as the Cardiac Catheter Laboratory, CT scans, MRI scans, and the Emergency Department.
Figure 1: Our ODPs checking the surgical equipment
ODP career journeys at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
Jane Minton: Superintendent ODP
Starting in theatres as a trainee ODP 24 years ago, having just graduated from university, was a daunting task but one I would not change. Becoming an ODP has given me a rewarding career, not only in theatre but also as a Medical Equipment Officer, Infection Prevention Specialist, and a Practice Development Practitioner, over the years. I am finally back home in the theatre environment as the first Superintendent ODP for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, and I could not be prouder of my amazing team of ODPs.
Lewis Clemson: How my ODP journey began
I first heard of the profession in 2004, at the age of 9, when my mom had a career change and began her ODP training through Staffordshire University. When I came to the point of applying for university, I had no doubt in my mind that I wanted to apply for the Operating Department Practice course through Staffordshire University. Thankfully I got accepted onto the course and I was able to start my ODP journey on 23rd March 2015.
Why I was attracted to the ODP profession
I spent my teenage years hearing all about these amazing operations that were performed, how anaesthetics work, and how ODPs help with it all. I knew then that this was the career I wanted to pursue. I wanted to be involved with all these amazing procedures and techniques. The idea of helping someone through their experience in theatres, when they are at their most vulnerable, was something that appealed to me. I would be there to care for people when they could not do it themselves. I would be able to make a difference to someone’s life by helping them through their life-enhancing procedures. It was a job nobody had heard of, and therefore I just had to do it, I had to be a part of making this amazing profession bigger.
Why I love my job
I love the variety of this profession. I have a dual role in anaesthetics and recovery, and therefore no two days are the same. I love that I can swap between different specialities and gain experience and knowledge every day. I have been on the frontline with extreme emergency cases; I have helped to revive people who have had cardiac arrests, I have helped bring babies into the world, and held hands speaking words of comfort as people have left the world. I am not just a person who comes to work and does my job and goes home at the end of the day. I am there to give people the care, compassion, and empathy that they require at the time they need it. I have been able to experience so much in my relatively short time as an ODP and look forward to being able to further develop my knowledge going forward. I am so thankful to my mom for introducing me to this career and I hope I can continue to spread her love for this profession to those who yet haven’t heard about the most rewarding job that people have never heard of! We are the unseen and unheard workers of the NHS, working in the shadows for those who need us, but I am adamant one day everyone will know of us.
Figure 2: Our ODPs in theatre
Rachel Davies: How my ODP journey began
I started my career as a Health Care Assistant in the Gynaecology outpatients’ service. I quickly realised I preferred the clinics where procedures were taking place such as hysteroscopies. During a quiet period in the clinic, I started talking to one of the doctors about becoming an ODP and it seemed interesting. He contacted a Sister in theatres, and we arranged for me to observe in theatres for a couple of days. This cemented my interest in becoming an ODP.
Why I was attracted to the ODP profession
Being purely theatre based appealed to me, also caring for patients in their most vulnerable moments. We are their voice whilst they are anaesthetised, their advocate. The ability to switch between anaesthetics, scrub, and recovery, and the different specialities means that no two days are the same.
Why I love my job
Being the patients’ advocate, offering them reassurance and support when they are stressed and anxious and seeing that I have made a difference is extremely rewarding.
You must work as a team in theatres, one team working like a well-oiled machine.
One day I might be assisting with a lifesaving major operation, the next day I could be helping to bring a new life into the world in maternity theatres.
You may not know who we are, or what we do, but rest assured we’re looking after you!
To learn more about how to become an ODP please explore the available AHP roles on the NHS website4.
References
- Susan Nancarrow and Alan Borthwick. The Allied Health Professions?: A Sociological Perspective. Bristol University Press; 2021.
- ODP: The best job you’ve never heard of? | Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Accessed November 17, 2022. https://www.bfwh.nhs.uk/odp-the-best-job-youve-never-heard-of/
- ‘The most rewarding job you’ve never heard of’: University celebrates National Operating Department Practitioners’ Day | Birmingham City University. Accessed November 17, 2022. https://www.bcu.ac.uk/news-events/news/the-most-rewarding-job-youve-never-heard-of-university-celebrates-national-operating-department-practitioners-day
- The National Health Service. Operating department practitioner | Health Careers. Accessed November 17, 2022. https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/allied-health-professionals/roles-allied-health-professions/operating-department-practitioner
