Intrauterine Contraception (IUC) Removal in Primary Care
Course Overview
This focused half-day course is designed for clinicians who support patients using intrauterine contraception (IUD/IUS) and wish to develop confidence in counselling, checking, and safe removal of devices within Primary Care.
The programme provides structured teaching on pre-removal counselling, pregnancy risk assessment, infection considerations, timing within the menstrual cycle, and safe removal technique principles. It supports clinicians in understanding when removal is appropriate, when it should be deferred, and when specialist referral is required.
This course does not provide training in intrauterine device insertion. Clinicians seeking insertion competency should undertake the CoSRH General Training Programme (LoC IUT).
Teaching is clinically focused and aligned with national contraceptive guidance, supporting safe, governance-compliant practice within Primary Care.
Who Should Attend
This course is suitable for:
- Practice Nurses
- Nurse Practitioners and Advanced Clinical Practitioners
- General Practitioners
- Primary Care Pharmacists (where role-appropriate)
- Clinicians already involved in contraceptive care
Participants should be working within a setting where IUC removal forms part of service provision.
What This Course Covers
IUC Overview
- Types of intrauterine contraception (IUD and IUS)
- Mechanism of action and duration of use
- Common patient concerns and misconceptions
Pre-Removal Counselling
- Pregnancy risk assessment
- Timing within cycle
- Recent unprotected sexual intercourse considerations
- Emergency contraception discussion
- Infection risk assessment
- Managing patient expectations
IUC Checks and Review
- When routine checks are appropriate
- Missing threads and initial management
- Bleeding pattern review
- When to escalate
Safe Removal Principles
- Indications for removal
- When removal should be deferred
- Recognising resistance or complications
- Referral pathways for complex removal
- Documentation and safety-netting
Clear distinction is made between removal training and insertion competency requirements.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Provide structured pre-removal counselling
- Assess pregnancy risk appropriately
- Apply national guidance when advising on removal timing
- Understand safe removal principles
- Recognise when specialist referral is required
- Document appropriately within Primary Care governance frameworks
Course Format
- Duration: Half-day (approximately 3 hours teaching time)
- Delivery: Virtual or face-to-face
Format includes:
- Structured teaching
- Case-based discussion
- Scenario analysis
- Clinical decision-making exercises
Certification
Certificate of attendance provided for CPD and revalidation purposes.
Completion of this course does not confer insertion competency and does not replace supervised clinical practice where required.