BSc (Hons) Operating Department Practice

• 112 UCAS points. We accept a full range of qualifications that carry UCAS points, including A-levels, BTECs and T-levels. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points. For most courses, we are also able to consider non-tariffable qualifications.
• Please note that this course is only available to Home students.
• Your Level 3 subjects must include a relevant subject; for instance, A-level Biology or BTEC Extended Diploma in Applied Science or Health and Social Care. Examples of relevant subjects include health and social care, human biology, biology, physics, chemistry, psychology, mathematics and social science. Please note that General Studies and Critical Thinking will not be counted towards the UCAS point requirement.
• You must also have at least five GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent), including English, Mathematics and Science. Please contact us for a list of acceptable GCSE equivalents.
• You don't need to have prior experience working in healthcare, but you must have a passion to care for others.
• You'll need to provide evidence of recent study, professional development or work experience, as well as demonstrate an understanding of healthcare professional standards, the ODP profession and patient care delivery in the perioperative setting.
• Qualifications gained outside England and Wales will be assessed on an individual basis according to guidance by the HCPC.
• If your application is successfully shortlisted, then you'll be asked to attend an interview. The interview process will involve face-to-face interviews with academic staff, practice staff and service users. You'll also be assessed on your values, behaviours, communication and problem-solving skills, and undertake a numeracy and literacy assessment. We're seeking students who can demonstrate a commitment to a healthcare career, who have excellent communication skills and who are caring, compassionate and assertive.
• If you're successful at the interview stage, you'll be asked to undergo occupational health screening and a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
• You'll be required to satisfactorily pass occupational health screening.
• You'll need to demonstrate that you are of good health and good character prior to enrolment and on an ongoing basis throughout your studies and career.
• We work with numerous NHS trusts across the North of England. Should your application be successful and you choose to take up our offer of a place, please note that your practice learning will be subject to rotation to ensure you can gain an appropriate range of experience. Normally, your clinical placements will take place within one trust, but we cannot guarantee this.
• This course involves working unsupervised with children and/or vulnerable young people and adults and you must gain an Enhanced Disclosure certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) before starting your studies. Charges are payable to cover the cost of the DBS Enhanced Disclosure application and annual registration with the online Update Service.
• If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 7.0 with normally no less than 6.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
• The University of Bolton recognises prior learning, whether gained through academic credit and qualifications or through your professional and employment experience. Previous learning may be used towards meeting the entry requirements for this programme or for exemption from part of this programme. It is your responsibility to make a claim for recognition of prior learning, and each claim will be considered in accordance with the University’s policy and regulations for the recognition of prior learning.
• Please note that it's not possible to join this course at Level 3 (HE6). Applications to join the course at Level 2 (HE5) will be considered.
• You'll need to ascertain if you're eligible for a student loan via Student Finance England or will need to be able to self-fund.
• Please note that this course is subject to the University of Bolton's Fitness to Practise procedure.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

We'd be delighted to chat with you about the course and your future career as an ODP. Please sign up for one of our Nursing & Midwifery open events where you can meet our staff and learn more about the University and our student support services.

Operating department practice is an exciting, fast-changing field with opportunities to work across different surgical and anaesthesia specialities. Our highly practical course is designed to develop clinical knowledge, skills and behaviours for working in operating theatres and wider perioperative settings.

After graduation, and once you've registered as an ODP with the HCPC, you'll be expected to take responsibility for a patient's welfare and personalise their care activities. You'll work as part of a multidisciplinary team of professionals from various clinical disciplines. You may find work in any of the three phases of perioperative care – anaesthesia, surgery or recovery – or in a role that combines all these areas.

As a graduate, you'll possess in-depth knowledge and application to practice in areas such as anaesthetic, surgical and post-anaesthetic care, anatomy and physiology, medicines management, leadership and clinical governance, and infection prevention and control. You'll be adept at planning and time management, and have a clear understanding and appreciation of the role of other healthcare professionals.

Please note this programme is not a direct route to nursing or medical programmes. It's designed to prepare you for the vital and rewarding role of an ODP.

What can I do with this qualification?

Alternative career options

Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers, bearing in mind that relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. Some of these roles include:

• Public health
• Management
• Armed forces
• HE teaching
• Clinical research
• Universities

The course is approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the College of Operating Department Practitioners (CODP).

Upon completing the course, you'll be required to apply for professional registration as an Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Whilst studying this course, you must adhere to the HCPC Guidance on Conduct and Ethics for Students (2016), in addition to University behaviour and fitness to practice regulations.

After qualifying as an ODP, you'll need to be committed to learning and always keep your skills and knowledge up-to-date. To maintain your registration to practice with the HCPC, you'll need to continue to meet their standards of proficiency, and conduct, performance and ethics standards.

Home/EU Fees

No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.

International Fees

International applications are not possible for this course

As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.

We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton students.

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2025-26 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

Modern ODPs require a range of skills and values, and our practice partners and tutors will help you gain an understanding and experience of perioperative care. We'll support you as you develop your skills in a safe and supportive environment. Learning focuses on the workplace environment, so you'll spend the majority of your time in practice gaining on-the-job knowledge and experience, and devote the rest of your time to university learning and independent study.

Your practice placements will be based at our partner NHS Trusts; for instance, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust (please note, considerable travelling may be required). As you progress through the course, we'll guide and encourage you to draw on your practice placement experience while studying theory and apply the theory learned to your practice so that you can understand how the two complement each other.

We offer a wide variety of learning opportunities designed to arouse your curiosity and support your personal learning journey. Work-based learning and formal face-to-face timetabled sessions are combined with extensive online resources and our community of students, university tutors and practice educators. Our blended approach includes lectures, presentations, simulations delivered by tutors, seminars, tutorials, problem-based enquiry and work-based learning. The course is highly interactive, requiring you to collaborate with colleagues in the workplace and fellow students. Online and face-to-face learning and discussion will be essential. You'll also need to undertake a significant amount of guided independent study, such as background reading, preparing for seminar activities, and working on assignments.

To help support your learning, the University also offers additional study skills sessions, such as essay writing, library skills and electronic searching, and numeracy.

You can expect a range of assessment methods, such as coursework assignments, practice competencies, problem-based learning and examination of practice. The assessment of practice and theory both contribute to the final award.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

• Foundations of Operating Department Practice
• Anatomy and Physiology in Operating Department Practice
• Fundamentals of Operating Department Practice
• Legal and Ethical Considerations in Operating Department Practice
• Infection Prevention and Control in Operating Department Practice
• Developing Anaesthetic and Surgical Practice
• Evidence and Enquiry for Practice
• Clinical Governance and Service Improvement
• Developing Post-Anaesthetic Care Practice
• Pharmacology in Operating Department Practice
• Applying Operating Department Practice
• Managing the Deteriorating Patient
• Advancing Skills in Critical Care
• Professional Leadership and Development

Assessment methods

Learning Activities

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.