Report: Stress and Rescure Class

[The Chairman]

He was not physically with you during this? From my knowledge of Standards and policies for NAUI... only Master Diver Class dives can be "unsupervised". All other class specific dives MUST have an instructor present. I do see some of this as "anal", but never ever should an instructor let an unsupervised rescue dive take place. Too much that can go wrong and end in tragedy.

 

[pdoege]

Hello -

I've been an EMT/Firefighter in a past life. So S&R was a pretty mild refresher.

I really enjoyed the UW rescues of a conscious victim.

I remember thinking that the rest was BS.

Only 10 minutes till brain death. If you find some diver not breathing and without a pulse they are probably already gone.

We spent a lot of time rescuing victims that were most probably already dead.

I'm not sure what benefit that training has. I would prefer a much larger emphasis on stress and risk reduction and how to avoid the problem in the first place.

We also spent a lot of time reviewing each others gear so we could unstrap their gear in the water. I am of the opinion that I would just cut it off. I would expect others to cut off my BP/W.

Not sure how to "train" people to do that. I would just look at the offending retractor/hose/whatever and say, "I'll cut this off". The victim lost no time undoing it themselves.

Peter Doege

PS. Funny about the 17 year old. I'd be screw with him a bit. I'm sure that your reaction was the better one.

 

[Gmfish]

I am a PADI Rescue Diver and ALWAYS try to attend the new classes as a victim. This helps keep me sharp as well as adding A skilled diver to an otherwise potentially out of control scenario.

The most realistic and benificial scenerarios IMO are always the ones that have some level of believability to them. I agree the best "value" in a RD course is teaching the student to THINK instead of REACT to the situation.

The biggest trick to being a victim is trying to keep from drowning while 5 or 6 over anxious students try to "rescue" you and bring you back to the boat while loosing your equipment.;-0

Glenn

 

[DeepSeaDan]

As another F.F./E.M.T. I concurr with Peter; scuba-rescue in it's current form has more to do with wishful make-believe than hard reality.

If there ever was an area of diving education where the "K.I.S.S." principle was needed, it surely is Dive Rescue.

As a professional rescuer, I know too well the pitfalls of overcomplicated procedures. We like to keep things as simple as possible, simply because of two things: our humanity, & the ever-present threat of that scoundrel "Murphy", who likes nothing better than to throw a spanner into the works whenever possible.

I teach rescue techniques as part of every basic course. I keep things very, very simple. I teach them some basic truths & a few realities:

> life is at the surface
> Life Saving is A B & C...all the rest is window dressing
> Adrenelin is both your friend & your enemy
> time is of the essence
> under no circumstances become another casualty
> a casualty's best chance is out of the water

Human nature dictates most recreational divers will not give another passing thought to rescue diving until the day when such skills are needed. What will they remember at that time? Probably very little of the finer points, perhaps some of the basics...& that is where we must concentrate our efforts as rescue trainers. For example, the "basics" of rescuing a casualty in full panic on the surface:

1. Call for help
2. Talk......reach......throw......row.......go
3. Go?
> Advise self rescue
> STAY OUT OF REACH
> Approach from below & behind
> Take control

What of the "unconcious" diver on bottom? When we lose conciousness our muscles relax...so how do we grip the regulator in our mouths? A diver found unmoving & non-bubbling does not need a primary survey, they need the surface. All that is important is getting them there as quickly as is safe for the rescuer.

On surface...attract attention & assess:

Where is the beach? The boat? How far? What are the sea conditions? What is your condition? Can you give effective rescue breathing?

Effective in-water rescue breathing is difficult even for the practiced. Take an average rec. diver, toss him into a life & death drama in a small chop & you are unlikely to see effective rescue breathing. The reality is that the heart stops effectively beating soon after breathing ceases, & in-water c.p.r. is impracticle ( read "useless" ) so in-water rescue breathing, in my opinion, is also useless in such circumstances & is a waste of precious time. If help is close by, get to it. If help is a long way off, then you do what you can.

Above all, get them out of the water. Fast.

Get them to ( hopefully ) multiple rescuers, 100% oxygen, effective c.p.r., de-fibrillation ( would be great! ) & transportation. The sad reality is that most v.s.a. ( vital signs absent ) drowning victims will not survive without immediate advanced life support. Students must acknowledge this reality without compromising their committment to do all they reasonably can.

Training agencies, with regard to rescue diving training, must ground their philosophy & procedures in reality. An analogy can be made to basic First Aid training. Over the years we've witnessed a continuous simplification of c.p.r. protocols. Standard First Aid has followed a similar path. This has occurred because every so often the worlds participating nations sit down & collate emergency response data to determine the effectiveness of current procedures & to incorporate new research, techniques etc., etc.. The net result of this brainstorming has been a continuous effort to simplify first response.

Keep it simple, practice, & regular recertification will give the diving casualty a fighting chance to live to dive another day.


Regards,
D.S.D.