SEVEN students are set to be the first to graduate from the University Centre Truro and Penwith as fully qualified BSc (Hons) Operating Department Practitioners (ODP), with many already working on the frontline of Cornwall’s NHS.

The first cohort to complete the professional focussed health qualification are now prepared to embark on their professional journeys without leaving Cornwall, thanks to Cornwall’s first nursing and healthcare degree-level programmes delivered at the centre.

In just five years, Elly Oakley, 44, from Camborne, has transformed her career from hospital porter to qualified ODP.

Elly’s journey began when she started on a Level 3 Senior Healthcare Support Worker Apprenticeship in 2019. This apprenticeship opportunity allowed Elly to get on the first rung of the Healthcare career ladder and helped her realise her capabilities.

She said: “It was great to know I could achieve something I never thought possible.”

Having first heard of the role of an Operating Department Practitioner while completing her apprenticeship with Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust, Elly’s interest in the profession only grew and upon completion of her Level 3 apprenticeship, she progressed onto the Practitioner degree apprenticeship, working as a Theatre Assistant and was initially appointed at a Band 2 position in Trauma and Orthopaedic Operating Theatres.

For the last three years, Elly has been completing her degree apprenticeship alongside her role at RCHT and now is fully qualified.

“In the third year we got to experience different placements such as A&E and ITU, which we’d never been able to go out to before. It means we’ve been able to follow the patients’ journeys further than just the pre-operative environment,” Elly said.

“I’ve enjoyed all of my placements, and I’ve really enjoyed learning more about orthopaedic operations because that’s where I see myself in the future and what I’d like to specialise in.”

Fellow qualified student Poppy Budden, 24, from Truro, has also secured a role working as an ODP to assist an anaesthetist within the Trust.

Poppy said of her time at the university centre: “The lecturing staff have been so helpful; even when I had things going on at home and in the rest of my life, they were so supportive, so understanding. They took the time to listen to us, hear everything we had to say – I really couldn’t have got through it without them.”

Lecturer John Reynolds expressed his admiration for the soon-to-be graduates.

He said: “They have maintained a professional approach throughout the three-year programme, and we are proud to see them flourish and start their new careers as registered ODPs.

“These students exemplify the commitment and passion required to excel in such a demanding yet rewarding profession.”

For more information on Healthcare courses at University Centre Truro and Penwith, visit truro-penwith.ac.uk/uni