PESSARIES: Advanced Pessary Fitting Course
New Zealand
***New for 2025***
Format
One day In-Person in Auckland on Sunday 12 October.
Course Content
In the PESSARIES: Introduction to Pessary Fitting course we focused on the theory and practice of speculum examinations and fitting ring, cube and Gellhorn pessaries.
 
In the PESSARIES: Advanced Pessary Fitting Course participants will gain practical experience in fitting a range of other pessary types.
 
More details to follow soon.
Participants:
There are limited places available on this course. Females, males, and gender diverse health professionals are invited to take part in this course. 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 this field, I recommend gaining more experience before completing this advanced course.
 
You must be a registered health professional in good standing in New Zealand or Australia, or your home country. Registration must be with the appropriate health professional board such as Physiotherapy Board of NZ, AHPRA boards, Osteopathic Council of NZ, The Nursing Council of NZ, Medical Council of NZ, etc.
 

As this is a practical course which involves internal examinations, participants usually must be willing and able to have vaginal examinations performed on them by fellow attendees. By using peer-to-peer learning, participants gain vital learning on how it feels to be a patient, as well as a health professional, ensuring you gain well rounded experiential learning. This course allows people of all genders an opportunity to learn from each other and gain vital, practical clinical skills.

However, we are aware that peer-to-peer learning in some health professions is not the 'norm'. We will try to accommodate this and are currently searching for a silicone vaginal model that will realistically simulate conditions such as LAM avulsion, POP stages, visualization of the cervix, etc and enable pessary fitting. This model will be able to be used by those who do not wish to take part in peer-to-peer practicals.

There are limited places allocated on the course for participants who have valid reasons for not being a patient model on the course but want to practice on other course participants. Valid reasons not to be a patient model include: First trimester pregnancy, high risk pregnancy, active vaginal infection, and no anatomical vagina.

If you are unable to or unwilling to be a patient model on the course for your peers, or you wish just to use the silicone model for practicals, please contact Melissa at [email protected] prior to registration for the course. This will enable Melissa to balance out the needs of all participants in advance of the course starting.

Your request will be treated confidentially and if granted, at the course no details will be given to other participants as to why you are not being a model.

Presenters:
Dr Melissa Davidson
Melissa is the only registered Specialist Physiotherapist in Pelvic Health in New Zealand. Alongside her 33 years of clinical practice, Melissa has extensive post graduate qualifications including a PhD in Bioengineering from Auckland University, a research Masters from Melbourne University, a Diploma in Advanced Orthopaedic Manipulations from Canada, and Post Graduate Certificates in Physiotherapy in Pelvic Floor (Australia) and Acupuncture (New Zealand). She also has a Certificate in Health Science, 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 current 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:
"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

"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

"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

"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

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

- Eileen, Physiotherapist, Australia

"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

Additional Information:
We will ensure the environment is private and supportive for any assessments. 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 have your period, internal examinations can still be completed. Low risk pregnancies are not a contraindication to internal examinations, however, please get in touch with Melissa to discuss prior to registering on the course as you may not be able to have pessaries fitted.
 
Some people may have known or unknown triggers that might cause them psychological stresses on the course. Please let Melissa know in advance if you have any known triggers so we can adjust things for you to make your learning these techniques as comfortable as possible.
 
Morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea will be provided. If you have specific food requirements or allergies, we recommend you bring your own food with you.
Pre-reading and Tests:
Pre-reading will be provided to complete prior to the course starting. A pre-course test needs to be completed prior to the course to ensure the pre-reading has been completed.
 

There will be practical assessments during the course testing clinical assessment skills learned on the weekend to ensure at the end of the course you are competent. These are completed throughout the weekend and done in a relaxed, comfortable fashion. You will need to pass these assessments to complete the course.

A post-course test and evaluation will need to be completed immediately after the two-day course. There will also be competency documentation that needs to be completed over six months prior to you receiving your completion certificate.

Investment:
Price TBC
Join the waiting list for 2025
The next PESSARIES: Advanced Pessary Fitting course will be in Auckland on 12 October 2025. This will be the only course in New Zealand for 2025 unless we get enough interest to run more courses.
 
Register below for the waiting list.
 

Preferential booking for people on the waiting list opens on 11 January. And course registrations will be open to all from 20 January. We'll email you to let you know.

Click here to register for the waiting list