If you are travelling to attend this course/practical from outside of the province/country where you are registered to practice, please make sure you inquire with the College of the province where you are traveling to as to whether you require a temporary/courtesy licence.

Overview:

This course has a common one-day live-online lecture portion for all participants, followed by practical dates as outlined below. 

Pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence are common concerns that Pelvic Health Physiotherapists and other health care providers see frequently with their clients who were assigned female at birth. As medical systems transition towards conservative management, pelvic floor muscle training and pessary use are being recommended as first-line care options for those with POP and SUI both in Canada and internationally. 

This course combines the most recent, evidence-based recommendations with hands-on and practical information for where pessaries fit into client care and how to integrate them into your clinical practice. Jenny and Cara have performed hundreds of pessary fittings and give in-depth, behind-the-scenes perspectives and clinical pearls to help you offer pessary care for your clients. 

Course objectives:

• Review up-to-date management options for pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence, including pelvic floor muscle training, exercise, medical and surgical options
• Overview of the POP-Q exam and how to perform the simplified POP-Q and vaginal tissue scan in clinic in a trauma-informed manner 
• Comprehensive, research-based summary regarding pessary recommendations, indications, contraindications, effectiveness and ongoing management
• Overview of different pessary sizes and styles, clinical reasoning for which pessary size and styles to try with a given client 
• How to work with other health care providers to ensure adequate pessary clearance and ongoing care
• Practical considerations for how to set up a pessary service in your clinic
• Lab will involve fitting ring and cube style pessaries

Please note: For the lab you will be working in groups of 2-3 to do speculum exams, simplified POP-Q assessment and pessary fittings for ring and cube on each other. 

**Participants for this course are from different professions, provinces, and countries. It will be each registrant’s responsibility to look into prevention and infection control for their practice. You are encouraged to verify the legislation in your province or country to ensure that fitting pessaries is within your scope of practice as well as the specific regulations about infection control (cleaning and sterilizing in clinic or outside).

Audience:

This course is recommended for experienced clinicians who have the ability to perform internal exams - Pelvic Health Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists Nurse Practitioners, Physicians, Physician Assistants, Naturopathic Doctors

Prerequisite: 

Prerequisite: Level 1 and experience/confidence in performing internal examinations.

* If you are a nurse or medical doctor who performs internal exams, you are welcome to register without the level 1 prerequisite - please mark profession on the registration form beside your name.