HUMAN CAPITAL IN THE OPERATING DEPARTMENT: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS TO THE OPERATING THEATRE WORKFORCE

The pre-registration preparation of health care professionals for work in the
operating department is in a transformative period. Now firmly entrenched in
higher education, the professions are pursuing a policy of graduate entry based
on a discourse underpinned by human capital theory. The impact of the
introduction of graduate entry to nursing and Operating Department Practice
(ODP) is explored in the context of the role of these professional groups in the
operating department. A purposive sample of ODPs and theatre nurses
participated in a survey, which was followed up with semi-structured interviews
with a purposive sample of ODPs and theatre nurses, from each of the salary
Bands 5 – 8.
The findings from the study provide an original contribution to the field of
education in three areas. First is a reconceptualisation of human capital theory
which acknowledges both organisational and individual factors as determinants
of participation in further education and training. Human capital theory is
repositioned as a multidimensional model which maintains and builds on
Becker’s (1993) original conceptualisation. Second is an insight into
professionalisation at an individual practitioner level, which is linked to the red
queen hypothesis to explain individual actions and reactions to the introduction
of graduate entry. Third, a recommendation for review of the pre-registration
training for ODPs and nurses is made, based on how the practitioners in this
study developed their body of professional knowledge and contextualised
clinical experience.