Doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals will be able to enrol in a first-of-its kind University of Melbourne-run program to better equip them to care for women with persistent pelvic pain.
The course, funded by the Victorian Government and free for participants, is part of a commitment from the landmark Inquiry into Women’s Pain announced in 2024.
The inquiry shone a light on issues around pain and pain management by giving women and girls’ the chance to share their experiences, and the challenges they have faced navigating the health system.
Women described numerous barriers to accessing care for pain, including gender bias and feeling like they were dismissed, stereotyped, misdiagnosed or mistreated.
The Supporting Women with Complex Pain course, will run for the first time in November and is already full, the University confirmed.
It is designed to provide health professionals with practical skills to provide trauma-informed, compassionate and evidence-based care to women, girls and gender diverse people with persistent pelvic pain.
“We know that women experiencing chronic and complex pain, particularly pelvic pain, often face significant barriers to diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care,” said Dr Naomi Holbeach, Academic Lead for Learning and Teaching in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health at the University of Melbourne.
“While we have made significant in-roads in both education and in clinical care, we know there is still a long way to go.”
In the first round, midwives, nurses, ED doctors, pharmacists, allied health professionals and GPs have signed up to take part in the course.
Dr Holbeach, who is the course coordinator and a gynaecologist, said this reflects the desire of healthcare providers across disciplines to improve care patients receive and their experience of accessing care.
The course includes a blend of online learning and a one-day in-person workshop.
Simulated patients will be used in the workshop to present real-world situations and examples for clinicians to diagnose, testing their skills to develop personalised, responsive approaches to complex pain.
“Health professionals, including doctors and nurses, GPs, physiotherapists and others, all play a really critical role in making sure women are being heard. We shouldn’t be the barrier to their access to the healthcare system,” Dr Holbeach said.
“When they knock, the door should open. That’s what we’re doing here – upskilling and capacity building a multidisciplinary response so that when someone knocks and says ‘I am in pain. Can you help?’ the answer is ‘Yes’.
“This course equips health professionals to know what can be done right now to address pain, who to refer them to, and what we can all do to listen better.
“Australian women, girls and gender diverse people who present in pain deserve it and the overwhelming interest in this course from the full range of health professionals caring for this group of patients is a promising sign that we are on the right path towards achieving this goal.”
More courses will be run in 2027.
For more information on the course click here.
