Students and graduates of Bournemouth University are providing vital skills into the local healthcare workforce and ensuring that skill gaps in the local workforce are covered.
Four BU students, in their final year studying Operating Department Practice (ODP) at BU, will go straight into full time roles at University Hospitals Dorset on completion of their degrees. The profession is under-recruited in Dorset, and BU graduates are staying locally to progress into careers to support local healthcare.
Ryan Watkins, Ellie MacDonald, Kerenza Piotrowicz and Jasmine Cossins have all secured positions as ODPs in the hospital, in part due to their performance while on placement at UHD during their studies. Their placements in theatre settings have been in surgery, anaesthetics, and recovery (post-anaesthesia care unit).
During their placements, a mandatory part of their education, the students have developed good working relationships with the theatres team. This is due to the structure of the course, which sees students placed between university and the hospital during their three-year degree so that their progress can be assessed in both education and practice environments.
Ryan Watkins, ODP at UHD, “I found it amazing working at UHD with all the opportunities provided. There was a real emphasis on encouraging us to meet all the different specialities we would be working with in the future.”
Ellie Macdonald, ODP scrub at UHD, “I really enjoyed this placement and the three years of doing this course.”
Kerenza Piotrowicz, ODP at UHD, said, “I came straight from college as I knew this role was something I wanted to do. I have really enjoyed it and saw everything I needed before qualifying. I love working at UHD – it is a brilliant, friendly team.”
Jasmine Cossins, Anastatic Practitioner at UHD, said, “I’ve had an amazing experience and three years training. I feel like I fit right in with the friendly team. I am looking forward to getting stuck right in with my new role. The multi-disciplinary team has a wide range of specialities and I have loved learning from them and gaining as much experience as possible.”
Suzanne Gorman, Deputy Practice Educator at UHD, said, “It has been profoundly rewarding to watch their journey and see their confidence grow. Going from scared year one students to registered professionals – we are so proud of them. We look forward to supporting them as newly qualified practitioners and we can’t wait to see what they do next and how their careers fly.”
Professor Anand Pandyan, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at Bournemouth University, said, “Well done to the ODP team and all the clinical educators for giving our students an excellent educational experience that convinced to remain local. The ODP team at BU has worked tirelessly on training graduates for the local work force.
“ODP is one of the professions where there are shortages, and I am pleased that we have been able to respond to local needs by introducing a new ODP apprentice programme to train more ODP practitioners. We continue to serve the people of Dorset with our training and education.”
For more information about studying Operating Department Practice, including an apprenticeship route, visit the Bournemouth University website.
