Operating Department Practice, BSc

We look forward to meeting you during Welcome Week.​​

Welcome Week is an essential part of starting your studies on the BSc (Hons) Operating Department Practice programme. It introduces you to your course team, your campus, and your fellow students, and it contains activities that are directly relevant to your progression onto clinical placement. 

​During Welcome Week you will also attend your Occupational Health vaccination appointment. This is required before you can attend clinical placement, and exact appointment times are assigned by surname. Please check the schedule carefully and ensure you bring any existing vaccination records from your GP or employer if requested.

Occupational Health, DBS & Placement Preparation

​Please ensure that all Occupational Health, DBS, and placement planning requirements requested by the Admissions Team are completed before registration. Failure to do so may prevent you from proceeding with your studies. If you have a disability or would like to discuss available support, the Disability and Mental Health service is available to you once you have accepted your offer

Placement Information

InPlace

Once your first placement has been allocated, you will automatically receive an email with instructions on how to sign in to InPlace and access your placement information. 

Occupational Health

Students need to obtain occupational health clearance to ensure they are fit to practice. You will be prompted via your ‘MyRecord’ to complete a clearance check and directed to an online health questionnaire.

Once you have submitted your questionnaire, you are required to attend an occupational health vaccination appointment appropriate to your placement requirements. We use an external company called OH Works for this. Ahead of your appointment, please gather any vaccination documentation (paper or electronic) from your GP or workplace to take to your occupational health appointment.

Your OH vaccination appointment will take place on Thursday 17 September 2026 in RWf07 (Rowan Williams Building, Medway Campus). Please see the below table for the exact time of your appointment:

Surname	Date	Time	Location
A - H	17 September 2026	13.15 - 13.30	RWf07
I - Q	17 September 2026	13.30 - 13.45	RWf07
R - Z	17 September 2026	13.45 - 14.00	RWf07

For enquiries about your occupational health clearance please email cccustudents@ohworks.co.uk or phone 01227 286288.

Please note, that if you are an S25 Health Foundation Year student, you are required to attend an occupational health vaccination appointment.

Uniform

On placement, you will be required to wear a uniform as part of your Readiness for Practice. Important information regarding your uniform can be found on the uniform policy.

Your uniform is provided to you free of charge and is expected to last you the duration of your course.

You do not need to order your placement uniform before you start your course.

Uniform ordering is staggered by course. This means that students on different courses will be invited to order their uniform at different times. If you hear that students on another course have already been invited, please don't worry – you will be contacted when it is your course's turn.

The Placement Management Team will email you with instructions on how to order your uniform in plenty of time before your first placement.

These instructions will be sent to your CCCU email account. Towards the end of August, once you have been invited to register for your course, we will email you with information on how to set up your CCCU email account.

Please note that you will not be able to order your uniform until you have completed all of your registration tasks.

Placement Badge

On placement you will be required to wear a placement badge, which will have your course title and preferred first name obtained from your MyRecord account. This placement badge is provided to you free of charge. You will be supplied with your placement badge once you have started your course. Please note, this is not your student ID card. 

What teaching will look like

​Teaching on the programme combines lectures, seminars, simulation, and practical sessions, delivered both on campus at the Medway site and through online learning.

Clinical Practice 1 includes placement hours in perioperative settings alongside your academic teaching. The balance between campus-based and practice-based learning is equal across the programme, and this begins in Year 1.

In the first few weeks of Semester 1, teaching will focus on building your academic and scientific foundations through the Academic Skills and Human Science modules, with Clinical Practice 1 introducing you to the perioperative environment.

​A distinctive feature of the Human Science module is access to the Anatomy Learning Centre (ALC) based at our Canterbury Campus, where you will have the opportunity to support your anatomy and physiology learning using human cadaveric prosections. This is a unique resource that distinguishes the programme from many others.

​Blackboard and digital learning

​The University uses Blackboard as its virtual learning environment (VLE). You will use Blackboard to access module materials, submit assessments, receive feedback, and communicate with your course team. You should familiarise yourself with Blackboard as early as possible after you receive your login credentials alongside other programs you recieve IT access for.

​Learning Skills Hub

​The Learning Skills Hub offers a range of resources and short courses to help you develop your academic skills. Before teaching begins, it would be beneficial to complete resources on academic writing, referencing, and critical thinking. If English is not your first language, the International Student Success Programme provides additional preparation for studying and living in the UK.

​Equipment

You should ensure you have access to a suitable device for online learning and document preparation.

​​There is no formal required reading before you begin, but the following will help you arrive well prepared:

• ​Review your course structure and module descriptions via the BSc (Hons) Operating Department Practice course page to familiarise yourself with the shape of the three years.

• ​The College of Operating Department Practitioners (CODP) website (www.codp.org.uk) provides professional context for the ODP role and is worth exploring before you arrive.

• ​Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Standards of Proficiency for Operating Department Practitioners, available free on the HCPC website. These are the professional standards your programme is designed to meet.

• ​A general anatomy and physiology text, such as Tortora and Derrickson's Principles of Anatomy and Physiology or Ross and Willsons Anatomoy and Physiology may be useful preparation for the Human Science module, though this should be confirmed with the module lead before purchase. We have many copies of these and others in our library and always recommend you have a look through them as they teach in very different styles