Skip to content

Wellbeing

Operating department practitioner

Operating department practitioners (ODPs) provide skilled care and support to patients at all stages of an operation.

Annual Salary

£30,000 to £45,000

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

37 to 40 a week

You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on shifts

3.8%
Future employment

There will be 3.8% more Operating department practitioner jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

You'll support patients of all ages in the anaesthetic, surgery and recovery phases of an operation.

As an operating department practitioner, you could:

  • help patients who are anxious or vulnerable get ready for surgery
  • prepare the operating theatre and make sure drugs and specialist equipment are available
  • monitor instruments and how clean the theatre is
  • provide the surgical team with any items they need during an operation
  • talk to other hospital staff for the surgical team
  • support patients after their operation and assess when they are ready to move to a ward

Working environment

You may need to wear a uniform.

You could work in an NHS or private hospital.

Your working environment may be hot and physically and emotionally demanding.

You can get into this job through a university course or an apprenticeship.

University

You'll need to study a diploma of higher education which takes 2 years or a degree in operating department practice which takes 3 years.

The course has to be approved by the Health and Care Professions Council.

You can do further study to top up your diploma to a degree after you qualify.

Work experience

You'll find it helpful to get some work experience in healthcare before you apply for a course.

NHS Learning Support Fund

During your studies, you might be eligible for financial support from the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • student finance for fees and living costs|https://www.gov.uk/student-finance
  • university courses and entry requirements|https://www.ucas.com/
Apprenticeship

You could do an Operating Department Practitioner Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship.

This usually takes 4 years to complete and is a mix of learning on the job and academic study at an approved university.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a degree apprenticeship
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide
  • search for apprenticeships on NHS Jobs|https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate

Requirements and restrictions

You'll need to:

More information

Career tips

When applying for courses and jobs, you'll be expected to have an understanding of how the NHS values apply in your work.

Further information

You can find more details about how to become an operating department practitioner from Health Careers.

Showing jobs in:
View all vacancies in this region

With experience you could:progress to team leader or senior operating department practitioner and manage an operating theatre unit; move into education, training or research; do training approved by the Royal College of Surgeons of England to become a surgical care practitioner; train to work as an anaesthesia associate or advanced critical care practitioner

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • knowledge of medicine and dentistry
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • knowledge of biology
  • the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
  • sensitivity and understanding
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • active listening skills
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
My top 5 skills
Please sign in to compare your skills to this job. Sign in

To save or view your choices and results you must sign in or register (takes 1 minute).

Sign in Register