Operating Department Practitioners (ODPs), work alongside doctors and their nursing colleagues as part of an interprofessional team delivering expert patient care in all aspects of the perioperative experience; the programme addresses all aspects of theatre work, including surgery, anaesthesia and recovery; additionally, the student is encouraged to apply current research in the pursuit of ‘best practice’; students attend the University for lectures and formal teaching while spending the greater part of their study within operating departments; areas of study include not only the obvious ones such as surgery, anaesthetics and recovery, but also infection control, anatomy and physiology, management of care and professional issues; completion of all modules leads to statutory registration with the Health Professions Council (HPC).