University News Last updated 15 May 2019
Staff and students at Birmingham City University are celebrating ‘the most rewarding job you’ve never heard of’, as part of a national campaign raising awareness of Operating Department Practitioners.
Birmingham City University has marked National Operating Department Practitioners' (ODP) Day (14 May) by challenging members of the public out and about on their lunch breaks to find out more about the profession.
Shoppers visiting the Hagley Road Morrisons store found ODP lecturers and students, along with an array of equipment and training manikins, stationed near the checkouts, as the University joined the national campaign to raise awareness of the profession.
Operating Department Practitioners are the only professionals trained specifically to care for patients in the operating theatre. They provide care to patients throughout the entire surgery pathway, including pre-assessments, during surgery and in recovery.
The demand for surgery continues to increase but there are currently 419 vacancies on NHS jobs for Operating Department Practitioners.
Hannah Abbott, Head of the School of Health Sciences at Birmingham City University and President of the College of ODPs, said: “I am proud to be an ODP.
“Being an ODP is without a doubt the most exciting and rewarding career and it is an ideal time to join the profession.”
Find out more about Birmingham City University’s Operating Department Practitioner course on the University’s website.