The One Thing Missing From Your Pelvic Health Training
You've just completed your pelvic health course. You're excited, energised, and ready to transform your practice. You feel confident – maybe even like you've "got this." But here's the thing about learning: it follows a predictable curve that every clinician needs to understand.
The Knowledge Curve Reality Check
Initially, after completing training, there's often a surge of confidence. You think you know it all – the techniques are fresh in your mind, the theory is clear, and you're eager to implement everything you've learned. But then something interesting happens: as you start applying your new skills in real clinical situations, you begin to realise just how much you don't know.
This isn't failure – it's the natural progression of competence development. You're moving from unconscious incompetence (not knowing what you don't know) through conscious incompetence (realising what you don't know) toward true competence. And this journey is exactly why mentoring becomes absolutely critical.
The Competency Gap Challenge
Helena Frawley and colleagues highlight a crucial issue in pelvic floor physiotherapy: there's a "registration-competency gap" that requires post-graduation training to ensure clinicians are appropriately skilled to practice safely and effectively. This gap isn't unique to pelvic health – it exists across many specialised areas of physiotherapy.
The challenge is that assessment and management of the pelvic floor complex isn't addressed as a core component of most entry-to-practice physiotherapy programs, despite being within our scope of practice. This creates a significant learning curve that can't be bridged by a weekend course alone.
Why Observation Isn't Enough
We regularly receive requests from clinicians wanting to "come and observe" our sessions. While observation is valuable and forms part of the learning process, it's just the beginning. Watching someone work doesn't develop your clinical reasoning, your ability to adapt in real-time, or your confidence in making complex clinical decisions.
True competence development requires:
Active Problem-Solving
Working through challenging cases with an experienced mentor
Discussing clinical reasoning processes
Understanding not just what to do, but why and when
Ongoing Skill Refinement
Receiving feedback on technique and approach
Adjusting treatment plans based on patient response
Developing the nuanced skills that separate competent from expert practice
Building Clinical Confidence
Having someone to discuss difficult cases with
Validation of clinical decisions
Support through the inevitable challenges and uncertainties
The Mentoring Difference
Ongoing mentoring support is essential because:
It bridges theory and practice: Courses teach you the 'what' and 'how' – mentoring helps you understand the 'when' and 'why not'
It develops clinical reasoning: Real patients don't present like textbook cases. Mentoring helps you navigate the complexity of clinical decision-making
It ensures safety and competence: Pelvic floor physiotherapy involves unique ethical and legal considerations that require ongoing guidance and support
It accelerates learning: Rather than learning through trial and error, mentoring fast-tracks your development through guided experience
Beyond the Course Certificate
Completing a course gives you the foundation – mentoring builds the house. It's the difference between having theoretical knowledge and developing true clinical competence. In a field as complex and nuanced as pelvic health, ongoing mentorship isn't a luxury – it's essential for safe, effective practice.
The most successful clinicians understand that learning doesn't end with a certificate. It begins there. And having the right mentor to guide that journey can make all the difference between feeling overwhelmed and becoming truly competent in your new skills.
Remember: feeling like a novice again after deepening your understanding isn't a step backward – it's a sign you're moving in the right direction. And that's exactly when mentoring becomes most valuable.