Course - Pessaries Introduction to Pessary Fitting

PESSARIES INTRO:

Introduction to Pessary Fitting

Highlights

Clinically relevant – you leave the course with the ability to bio-mechanically assess the vagina, objectively measure POP, assess the vaginal mucosa using speculum examinations, and fit ring, cube and Gellhorn pessaries.
We give you all the clinicial templates you will need and a tracking system to enable immediate application of pessary management into your clinic. Templates include Medical Screening Form, multiple types of reporting forms, Pessary Information Booklet for patients, Consent Form, Self Management Form, and a excel spreadsheet to ensure you are meeting the needs of your patients and your business.
Multiple practical sessions to embed the skills learnt on the course. These practical sessions can be done with the use of a silicone vaginal model or, for those who wish to, peer-to-peer learning.
Taught by experienced clinician and educator Dr Melissa Davidson PhD, a registered Specialist Physiotherapist in Pelvic Health.

Course Content

This clinical course is focused on teaching you how to conservatively manage pelvic organ prolapse, including how to subjectively and objectively assess the patient, select the pessary, and fit it correctly.

The course is evidence informed but also very clinically focused, to give you the ability to step into the role of fitting pessaries immediately with all the information and support you need. You will have multiple practical sessions and clinical discussion times during the course to ensure you feel clinically confident by the end of the course.

Pelvic organ prolapse prevalence, risk factors, and incidence will be reviewed, and we will break down how the different POP presentations affect your pessary selection.

We will discuss other conservative management strategies such as lifestyle changes/modifications, pelvic floor muscle training, weight loss, and bowel and bladder health. Surgical options for pelvic organ prolapse will be reviewed.

Precautions and contraindications for pessaries will be discussed. We will dive deep into the clinical indications that suggest pessaries may be a suitable option for the patient.

Speculum use will be taught, with the focus on assessing vaginal mucosa integrity and the cervix. This training is to ensure the vaginal muscosa appears suitable for the use of pessaries. We are not covering speculum assessments for pelvic pathologies. (Note: If you register for the PESSARIES Intro Course, you do not need to book for the Speculum Workshop as well. The PESSARIES Intro course covers the same content.)

Your lying and standing assessments will be checked and we will review your POP palpation assessment skills.

Objective measurements of prolapse will be taught using POP-Q staging, SPOP-Q staging, and Baden-Walker grading. You will learn practical skills on how to select the pessary based on your bio-mechanical assessment of the patients' vaginal dimensions and levator ani muscles.

Outcome measures for assessing symptoms and quality of life will also be discussed to ensure you know that your patients' symptoms are improving with pessary use.

You can choose to use silicone model learning and/or peer-to-peer learning during the practical sessions.

Fitting of the three most common pessaries used globally (ring, cube, and Gellhorn) will be taught and completed as part of your course practicals. We use multiple fitting kits on the course to ensure you can trial different sizes and shapes on the course in a safe environment if you choose peer-to-peer learning.

We also have advanced silicone vaginal models that we use on the course to teach speculum exams, POP-Q staging, levator ani muscle avulsion palpation assessments, and pessary fitting. This unique vaginal model, named 'Lily' after the New Zealand Mt Cook native wild flower, is a world first in silicone models. It gives the participant as close as possible, realistic experiences, enabling safe practice of new techniques.

Learning when and how to refer on for medical reviews when signs of complications or abnormalities will be discussed as well as when to refer onto allied health professionals.

You will be taking home three sample pessaries, one of each type, to use for patient education.

Business and recall systems, and how to manage these within your patient management system will be discussed. Common suppliers of equipment and consumables, infection control measures, and fitting kit cleaning protocols will be provided.

Patient reports, patient medical screening request form, and patient education handouts (consent, self-management, and information on pessaries) will be reviewed and original templates will be given to you to use in your clinic.

You will also be given a copy of "The Beast", an complex Excel spreadsheet created by Simon – used for tracking all inventory related to pessary management, including supplies, fitting kit tracking, pessary tracking, and recall tracking.

We also offer ongoing support in a private forum for the first 12 months after the course is completed to all course participants. This is for information sharing, trouble shooting, asking clinical questions, networking, etc.

We have set monthly Live Online 'Question and Answer' sessions with Melissa after the course is completed to ensure you have the ongoing support in place to feel confident in assessing and fitting pessaries.

As part of the post-course requirements, we will be asking you to complete a logbook of the speculum exams completed, pessary fittings completed, a case study, a reflective statement, and a peer review. These activities will need to be completed after the practical day over the following 6 to 12 months. We will also be asking to see a summary of your recall system, and health and safety procedures around pessary management in your clinic. Melissa will be reviewing and assessing all of these competency documents. These requirements are to ensure you reach acceptable skill and safety levels in all areas of pessary management.

Once you have completed your competency documentation successfully, your certificate of completion of the course will be issued.

Format

To give busy health professionals more flexible learning options and to reduce travel costs, we have split the PESSARIES INTRO course into two parts: online learning and one day of practical hands-on learning and discussions.

The online learning is on-demand for self-paced learning. You must complete this before attending the practical day.

The practical day will be in-person in a variety of locations in Australia and New Zealand. See below for locations and dates for 2026 and 2027.

NOTE:

If you are keen to learn about all the other common pessaries available, you can also register for the PESSARIES ADVANCED Course and complete the practical day of that course on the same weekend as the PESSARIES INTRO Course practical day. See the PESSARIES ADVANCED course page for more information on that course.

Participants:

To attend this course, you must already be practicing as a pelvic health professional and experienced in performing internal vaginal examinations with patients. 'Experienced' means that you regularly perform vaginal examinations in your day-to-day clinical practice and already provide conservative management of pelvic organ prolapse. If you have just started out in the field of pelvic health, I recommend you gain more experience before completing this advanced course.

You must be a registered health professional in good standing in your home country. Registration must be with the appropriate health professional board such as Physiotherapy Board of NZ, AHPRA boards in Australia, Osteopathic Council of NZ, The Nursing Council of NZ, Medical Council of NZ, etc.

Females, males, and gender diverse health professionals are invited to take part in this course.

Practical Sessions

This course includes practical sessions. We have advanced realistic silicone vaginal models available to practice levator ani avulsion assessments, speculum examinations, POP-Q measures, and the fitting of ring, cube, and Gellhorn pessaries. You are welcome to attend the course and just do silicone model learning with the pessaries.

We also have multiple fitting kits available for those who wish to use peer-to-peer learning for their practical sessions (a common practice with physiotherapists in all fields). If you wish to do peer-to-peer learning, it involves internal examinations with participants practicing on each other during the practical sessions. If you have specific requirements around genders, culture, trauma history, or something else during peer-to-peer learning, this will be taken into account so you are completely comfortable if you wish to take part.

Informed consent is discussed in detail on the course, and you will have the ability to consent or not consent to internal examination at the time of the assessments if you choose to take part in peer-to-peer learning.

You can also choose to combine using the silicone model and peer-to-peer learning, its up to you.

Presenters:

Dr Melissa Davidson

Dr Melissa Davidson is the only registered Specialist Physiotherapist in Pelvic Health in New Zealand. Alongside more than three decades of clinical practice, Melissa has extensive post graduate qualifications including a PhD in Bioengineering, research Masters from The University of Melbourne, a Diploma in Advanced Orthopaedic Manipulations from Canada, and Post Graduate Certificates in Physiotherapy in both Pelvic Floor and Acupuncture. She also has a Certificate in Health Science and is a Certified Health Coach. She is registered with the Physiotherapy Board of New Zealand under Specialist Scope of Practice and is a long-term member of Physiotherapy New Zealand. She is the immediate past President of the International Organisation of Physiotherapists in Pelvic and Women's Health. Melissa is the lead author on the 'Pessary Management Recommendations for New Zealand Pelvic Health Physiotherapists', designed in consultation with content experts in physiotherapy, gynaecology, and general practice.

Simon Smith

Simon is the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) and Co-Founder of Dr Melissa Davidson Pelvic Health Training. Simon uses his business and management experience to work behind the scenes dealing with the business systems of physiotherapy practices. He provides one-on-one international business consultancy with private practice owners to improve their businesses processes, cash flow, efficiency, and at the same time reduce the owners' (and employees') stress levels.

What people are saying about this course:

"I highly recommend this course if you are interested in learning all about pessary fitting, cleaning, patient information, tracking of devices etc. Melissa and Simon present a very comprehensive learning package complete with post course competencies etc. Highly recommend - it is worth every cent and minute of your time".

- Sharon, Nurse Practitioner

"This was a very comprehensive training course that has enabled me to feel competent and confident to assess, fit and manage vaginal pessaries. The shared multi-disciplinary learning experience on the practical day was excellent and super fun too!"

- Kate, Nurse Clinical Specialist

"Excellent, hands on course. I learnt a lot and practiced a lot of my skills which is very useful for my daily practice"

- Angela, GP

"Melissa delivered a fantastic weekend of learning. She provided a relaxed atmosphere, with positive comments and great humour along the way. Highly recommend her courses to all up and coming people within the womens health field."

- Brittany, Physiotherapist

"The pessary course not only gives you everything you need to be safely and competently fitting and managing pessaries, but also thorough evidence based up to date knowledge on POP."

- Sara, Physiotherapist

"A jam packed two days of interdisciplinary learning. Peer-to-peer training was new to me, however the sessions were run incredibly professionally, there was no pressure to participate and other options were available for those not comfortable with it. However, the learning I gained from participating was invaluable!"

- Emma, Nurse Practitioner

"I have been on a number of Melissa's courses now and they just keep getting better! This "Pessaries" course was absolutely amazing. I walked away feeling so satisfied, motivated and eager to continue my work in this field."

- Rebecca, Physiotherapist

"I cannot recommend Melissa's courses enough! Another great course to expand knowledge of pelvic health and better be able to manage clients conservatively. The balance of theory and practical means that you leave feeling confident in your knowledge and skills to be able to commence fitting pessaries once all your policies and procedures are in place"

- Megan, Physiotherapist

"Melissa and Simon always deliver on these courses. So organised, so well thought out, so thorough and informative. The theoretical and practical aspects of the course are so well balanced that it enables a true learning experience and allows one to fully grasp the content and retain all learning by putting it all into a "real experience". Having Fran's Pelvic health and Pessary and Alice's Gynaecological knowledge and experience really sets this course above and beyond. Not to mention the IT, cleaning and food extaordinaire, Simon! and how can we forget THE FOOD...always deliciously spectacular. I got so so so much out of this course and would absolutely recommend it to all who would love to learn more and become competent in the world of Pessaries."

- Tessa, Physiotherapist

"Great course! Clear and concise learning materials and practicals that give you the confidence to implement immediately clinically. Very clinically applicable to anyone managing women with prolapse."

- Louise, Physiotherapist

"Excellent course! I loved Melissa's practical approach to supporting women with prolapse and pessary use."

- Kara, Physiotherapist

"Fantastic course! Presented in several ways to appeal to all learning styles. Loved learning with a variety of different health professionals especially the physios. Food was excellent too."

- Ella, GP

"Highly informative and practical course - within a relaxed environment which enhances the overall learning experience. As a GP with an interest in women's health I found the skills learned essential."

- Christina, GP

"Fantastic evidence based course with robust protocols and excellent clinical application."

- Glenn, Osteopath

"I am an RN working in women's health for many years. I have been searching for a course that would provide me with knowledge and experience to enhance existing skills and provide the best care for wahine that I see in clinic. Learning from such a highly skilled physiotherapist has added a new dimension to my understanding. Melissa keeps it real, provides great resources, uses very descriptive examples, plenty of humour, encourages group participation and no-one goes to sleep, even late on Sunday afternoon!!! Brilliant course, thoroughly recommend to any RN working in women's health."

- Helen, Nurse

"Melissa is a great educator, very practical and clinical in her approach. Her teaching style resonated with me really well."

- Divya, Physiotherapist

"Fantastic course with plenty of practical sessions and take home information to use immediately within your practice"

- Eileen, Physiotherapist

"As a PHPT confident in treating POP conservatively, I found this course wonderful in learning how to safely fit and monitor pessaries both practically and administratively."

- Kat, Physiotherapist

"Very good course. Evidence -based approach, and here in NZ. Learned to assess and fit 3 different pessaries which is great to have some options to offer."

- Natalie, Physiotherapist

"This course gave me the knowledge, skills (and the admin systems) to be able to fit and manage pessaries in my patients. Melissa was friendly and approachable and created an environment that was welcoming and non intimidating. thanks Melissa"

- Simone, Osteopath

"Thank you Melissa and Simon for this wonderfully structured course. It was wonderful to meet other GPs and physios who work amongst a whole host of settings and learn from their knowledge and experiences, particularly as I work in an area where pelvic health and pessary services are limited. You are an engaging educator and it was a delight to learn even after a long week of work, life and travel. Your education leaves me with more clarity and confidence about offering pessary services and some optimist and points of reflection too. You really role model a great balance of directness, humour and compassion."

- Rachel, GP

"The Pessaries Intro Course was fantastic. I really loved the hands-on practical sessions and found the information incredibly relevant and easy to apply to clinical practice. Melissa created such a supportive learning environment and explained everything in a way that felt approachable and evidence-based. I left feeling much more confident in assessing prolapse and understanding pessary management. Highly recommend this course to anyone working in women's health!"

- Robyn, Physiotherapist

Additional Information:

Morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea will be provided on the Practical Day. If you have specific food requirements or allergies, we recommend you bring your own food with you.

Pre-reading and Tests:

There is pre-reading and activities to be done prior to completing the on-line learning and your practical day. You must complete the on-line learning and the activities before the practical day. Do not leave this to the last minute! All information regarding the pre-reading and activities is provided in the Course Workbook (available for download once you register for the course).

During the in-person practical day, there will be practical assessments testing clinical assessment skills learned on the course to ensure that by the end of the course you are competent. These are completed throughout the day and done in a relaxed, comfortable fashion.

You will need to complete the post-course evaluation within 2 weeks of the practical day being finished.

There is also the competency documentation that needs to be completed over the following 6 to 12 months. Once this is submitted to Melissa and she has approved it, you will receive your completion certificate.

Summary of competency checks:

- Pre-reading and completion of activities

- Online learning, on-demand

- Practical day in-person + in-person tests

- Competency documentation

= Course completed and certificate issued

Investment:

The course fee includes the following:

+ Three sample pessaries to use for patient education

+ Custom clinical templates (doctor reports, medical screening request, patient information on pessary management booklet, consent form, self-care information for patients)

+ Cleaning protocols for fitting kits

+ 'Cheat' sheets for remembering your practical skills

+ 'The Beast', an Excel spreadsheet for managing pessaries in conjunction with your PMS.

+ Competency documentation review after the course by Melissa

+ Ongoing support in a private forum for the first 12 months after the course is completed.

+ LIVE 'Question and Answer' sessions each month with Melissa for 12 months after the course is completed. The 'Q and A' session is only covering content directly related to the course. If you need further support please join Pelvic Health Connect, our online mentoring group.

We provide all of the above to ensure this course provides a 'wrap around' support for you in your learning to ensure you are competent in pessary management.

This course is not eligible for a cashback discount for Pelvic Health CONNECT members.

Course fees:

For New Zealand Locations - NZ$1,495 (incl GST) for the course.

For Australian Locations - AUD$1,595 for the course.

Choose your course location and date below

For September 2026, we will be driving from Adelaide to Melbourne to Sydney. We will be offering the Pessaries Intro, Speculum Workshop and Pessaries Advanced courses in the main cities on the weekends. These locations will have silicone model learning and peer-to-peer learning available at each location.

We will be offering Pessaries Advanced practical sessions mid-week in regional centres between Adelaide to Sydney. These will be limited to silicone model learning only (NO peer-to-peer learning) due to venue and time restrictions. Depending on demand and venue location, Speculum Workshop with peer-to-peer learning may be offered mid-week in the regional towns.

For October/November 2026, we will be driving from Brisbane to Townsville and back with Pessaries Intro, Speculum Workshop and Pessaries Advanced courses in Brisbane and Townsville on the weekends. These locations will have silicone model learning and peer-to-peer learning available at each location.

We will be offering Pessaries Advanced practical sessions mid-week in regional centres between Brisbane and Townsville. These will be limited to silicone model learning only (NO peer-to-peer learning) due to venue and time restrictions. Depending on demand and venue location, Speculum Workshop with peer-to-peer learning may be offered mid-week in the regional towns.

In March 2027, we will be offering Pessaries Intro, Speculum Workshop and Pessaries Advanced courses in Perth on the weekend. This location will have silicone model learning and peer-to-peer learning available. We will be offering Pessaries Advanced practical sessions mid-week in regional centres while doing a southern route to and from Perth (Perth to Albany, then east to Esperance, then north to Kalgoorlie, and west back to Perth). These will be limited to silicone model learning only (NO peer-to-peer learning) due to venue and time restrictions. Depending on demand and venue location, Speculum Workshop with peer-to-peer learning may be offered mid-week in the regional towns.

In summary : weekend courses will offer both peer-to-peer learning and the silicone model options for practicals. Midweek courses will only offer the silicone model for practical learning.

Please check your location and the learning style available in that location carefully to ensure you understand your options fully, before you register!

City

Venue*

Pessaries Intro Course

Adelaide

Saturday 5 September
8.30am - 5.00pm

Venue TBC

Buy this course

AUD1,595