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About Operating Department Practitioner Jobs
Operating Department Practitioner jobs are about providing care for patients at all stages of the surgical process. Operating Department Practitioners form part of the operating theatre team. ODPs work to ensure every operation is as safe and effective as possible and although they are not registered nurses they play a vital part of the clinical team.
In order to become an Operating Department Practitioner and apply for ODP jobs you must have a Diploma in Higher Education in Operating Department Practice, which is a two year (full time) training programme, which then enables you to apply for registration with the Health Professions Council.
Typical training to become an ODP would combine practical involvement in the operating department with background and theory work. A lot of the two years is spent practically, training at hospitals, operating theatres, accident and emergency and intensive care units working alongside nursing colleagues, providing skilled assistance to surgeons and anaesthetists.
The role of an ODP is also about being able to predict and respond to situations pre and post operation and to take responsibility for the patients in their care. An Operating Department Practitioner provides care at all stages of the surgical process, which would typically be broken down in to three stages.... the anaesthetic, the surgery itself and post anaesthetic (more commonly known as the recovery phase).
Responsibilities of an ODP during the anaesthetics phase would include the preparation of the drugs and equipment needed during the procedure, checking devices that maintain the patient’s airway and communicating with the patient on arrival in the anaesthetic room and running through the pre-op checklist with the patient.
In the second phase, the operation itself, the Operating Department Practitioner would ensure that all sterile instruments and equipment is ready and on hand to be passed to the surgeon on demand during the operation.
The third phase – the recovery stage is an important time for the ODP when airway management and the physiological signs are monitored closely. The ODP will assess the patient’s progress before discharge of the patient back to the ward. Although Operating Department Practitioners typically work within operating theatres ODP’s are also an important resource used during emergency inter-hospital transfers, mainly to Neurosurgical hospitals, decompression chambers and intensive care units.
