Dr Luke Ewart

Following qualification as an ODP, I mainly concentrated on the anaesthetic and recovery phase of perioperative care. After a period of consolidation in London and the South East, I moved to Amstelveen in Holland where I worked as an anaesthetic assistant (non-medical anaesthetist). I joined CCCU in 2001 and became the Course Director for Pre-registration Operating Department Practice in 2003, taking the ODP course through several validations as the profession itself has progressed. In particular, I led the development of the 2009 validation and the subsequent approval of the first BSc (Hons) Operating Department Practice in the country. I am now also the Director of Research and Scholarship in the School of Allied and Public Health.

My main areas of teaching are Anaesthesia, Human Biology (anatomy & physiology), and Research Methodology, for both pre-registration and post registration students.

I have an interest in medical sociology as this forms the basis of much of my own research, and I am particularly interested in supervising research projects with a focus on this area or on research that examines implementation of interventions that improve the patient experience.

The focus of my research is in understanding and implementing strategies that can improve the overall patient experience. My research activities focus on cultures of health care work and understanding the patients’ experience of undergoing surgery. I am interested in the use of an ethnographic approach to aid an understanding of the patient experience and support a theoretical interpretation of the behaviour and relationships that are enacted in the context of everyday life. Theoretically, these interests are informed by ethnomethodology, implementation science, medical sociology and anthropology. Methodologically, I have used ethnography, interviews, grounded theory and documentary analysis.

I was a Fitness to Practice Partner with the Health and Care Professions Council for the statutory maximum period of eight years, responsible as part of a panel, for considering information and evidence presented to the panel to reach well-reasoned and fair decisions on ODP Operating Department Practitioner registrants' fitness to practice cases. I am a Lead Visitor Partner for the Health and Care Professions Council, responsible for visiting and addressing existing and proposed education and training programmes delivered by education partners for the provision of ODP Operating Department Practitioner education. Furthermore, I am a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Perioperative Practice.

I have acted as External Examiner for other Universities (currently for Wolverhampton University) and undertaken External Adviser/Subject Expect role for programme development at other Universities delivering ODP Education. I also undertook an active role in the recent review of the HCPC Standards of Proficiency for the ODP profession.