ABSTRACT
Operating Department Practitioners and theatre personnel have direct involvement in infection control issues, as it is a part of their everyday working practice. Healthcare students based in the operating department are given a broad exposure to the implications of substandard infection control. Examples include provision of statistics relating to healthcare-associated infections, the aetiology of infections, the different types of infection, and preventive methods used in the healthcare environment. In an alternative placement, personal experience has identified other infection prevention and control issues that are equally important, outside of the operating department. Student healthcare practitioners should be taught the most current and highest standards of infection control practice, relating to evidence-based practice supported by a number of academic resources. This requirement is often inconsistent with the experiences of students on clinical placement, and this has the potential to affect the future practice of these students as registered healthcare practitioners.
