Bad Dive Master

[dherbman]

Great attitude, Walt. Sounds like you'll do fine with it.

 

[ckharlan66]

Mod Post
I have remove several posts from this thread that were either insulting or off topic.

Some the posts that were removed were taken out because they referred to other posts that were removed.

Please try to remain somewhat on topic and not be insulting in you posts.

Thank you.

Mod Post​

 

[RiverRat]

There are many bad DM's out there, just like there are many bad Instructors and many bad OW divers. And although you can guage someones experience by the number of dives they have, it's not always an indicator of what kind of diver they are or will become. You can tell some divers are just trouble from the beginning. Just when I thought I've seen it all I see something else that is just totally unbelievable! OW students doing checkouts with full blown sinus infections, not disclosing medical problems, you name it. Divemasters that say they want to help out, want to learn more, but are known to blow you off in the end and not show up. Instructors that do most of their dives in a quarry or pool (not always a bad thing but guages their "real world" experience). I helped out with 2 OW classes and 1 AOW class this weekend. On Friday I helped an Instructor do most of the OW checkout dives for 1 student. It was an easy day because this kid was just a natural underwater! He also had a great attitude. He asked questions and applied what he learned. You could just tell he has the makings of a good diver if he continues in the sport. I feel if he took the DM course he'd come out shining at 60 dives.

 

[ScubaMike14]

It's amazing that so many people will bash the divemaster for a a problem or a bad dive, and then go and blame it on the training agency that certified them. Perhaps we should all start blaming the motor vehicle agencies for traffic accidents and fatalities. After all, read a 20 page book, drive a car for 15 minutes and demonstrate a few basic skills and you then get a license.

I personally am a 60 dive DM who completed a PADI course in 1999 (I think). Now I am living in the Bahamas and doing 3 dives a day, 7 days a week and loving it. I consider myself a great DM as do my customers.

It all sums up to attitude and the individual. It's what you DO with the training you recieve and how you use it. Remember....what do you call the guy/girl who graduates first in Medical school? You call them Doctor..... What do you call the person who graduates at the very bottom of the class in medical school? You call them DOCTOR.

Mike Rushton

 

[Thalassamania]

Remember....what do you call the guy/girl who graduates first in Medical school? You call them Doctor..... What do you call the person who graduates at the very bottom of the class in medical school? You call them DOCTOR.

And the one that graduates at the top of his or her class gets an internship at Johns Hopkins and then a residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, whilst the one at the very bottom of the class doesn't. So there is a great disparity in their training, skills, knowledge and income. After all, which one would you want taking care of you? You may call them both Doctor, but they’re not the same, I know it, you know it and most of all THEY KNOW IT!

 

[ScubaMike14]

And the one that graduates at the top of his or her class gets an internship at Johns Hopkins and then a residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, whilst the one at the very bottom of the class doesn't. So there is a great disparity in their training, skills, knowledge and income. After all, which one would you want taking care of you? You may call them both Doctor, but they’re not the same, I know it, you know it and most of all THEY KNOW IT!

I understand where you are going with this, the issue is (diving aside) that very few people know where there physician was trained or what rank they had in class. They just know who they think is "good" and who is a quack. Again it falls back on the skills and abilities of the individual and what they choose to do with the training they receive and how they apply it to the job. A 50 dive DM may be just as good as a 200 dive DM or vice versa. It's how the DM, physician, or customer service person on the phone presents themselves and takes care of the issues that the customer/diver has based on the training they have received. Harvard or Bob's Community College.....PADI or SDI....

Allright, enough from me.

Mike Rushton

 

[stardust]

I like that my instructor quit counting at 6000 dives or some ridiculous number; he makes me feel safe.

 

[Thalassamania]

I understand where you are going with this, the issue is (diving aside) that very few people know where there physician was trained or what rank they had in class. They just know who they think is "good" and who is a quack. Again it falls back on the skills and abilities of the individual and what they choose to do with the training they receive and how they apply it to the job. A 50 dive DM may be just as good as a 200 dive DM or vice versa. It's how the DM, physician, or customer service person on the phone presents themselves and takes care of the issues that the customer/diver has based on the training they have received. Harvard or Bob's Community College.....PADI or SDI....

I can’t speak for others, perhaps I'm unique, but I know damn well where any physician that I see went to school, did their internship, did their residency, what they are board certified in, etc. I frankly only care that they present themselves competently.

Yes a 50 dive DM can be be just as good as a 200 dive DM, but its not how they present themselves, it how they perform. Is it possible for the best of Bob's Community College to beat the worst of Harvard? Absolutely! But the odds are not favorable. As far as I can see, PADI or SDI is hardly the same sort of comparison.

 

[ScubaMike14]

You are entitled to your opinion and I hope you never have to be seen in an emergency room. By the time you try and figure out who is taking care of you or a family member and thier credentials, you might wind up on the cold metal table of someone who didn't make it INTO medical school.

 

[Thalassamania]

In an emergency it sometimes has to be "any port in a storm," we all accept that as a risk of life.

I just reread my posts, I'm sorry ... I did not mean to come on that hard. All I'm saying is that I what to know the abilities of those I engage for a task. When I hire a contractor I check with the State for his license and complaints, same with a plumber or other licensed trade. Credentials don't tell the whole story, neither does a dive log, but in a fast moving world where we don't have the luxury of leisurely interviewing everyone that we employ, credentials are a first screening.