The clinical placements provide the opportunity for students to gain experience in three different organisations, enabling students to gain a wider understanding of the operating department practitioner s role and develop a readiness to work as a qualified practitioner. Students also undertake practical sessions on campus in the University s skills laboratories, including an operating theatre and high dependency room with equipment and computerised mannequins. This provides them with the opportunity to gain confidence and develop some of the complex skills in a safe environment before they go out into the real world.