Rescue Diver

[drdaddy]

Rescue Diver was a great course. It not only helps you in rescuing others, but also self-rescue, and also avoiding situations.

It also helps a person evaluate what role you can play in a rescue. There are a number of roles in a rescue - not everyone jumps in. And one also needs the skill to evaluate what and if they are able to rescue - so you won't become a victim yourself.

It was harder than most courses (studies and exercises) - and - I really did enjoy it.

drdaddy

 

[divetatoo]

As I mentioned earlier, I had a tough DM. Now that I am a DM, I make it tough as well. This course was fun for me because it was difficult. It was very demanding both physically and mentally. But it was a major charge!! Let's take it a step further... you are diving with buddies, they dive a lot but have no experience other than diving. How many things can go wrong besides the basics of diving? There are a lot more rescue divers out there than DM's. Not everyone wants to go Pro. As with anything, it is waht you make of it. It is a super stretch to compare a simple rescue class to special ops training, honsetly.

Jed, I say challenge yourself!! You sound like someone who is concerned with the safety of others. Even if you don't go the pro route, I know many instructors that like using Rescue Certified divers as safety divers in classes.

 

[altaskier]

On previous diving vacation I had seen some people who were disasters waiting to happen, and that got me thinking about what I would do if the wait was over! Also, my wife is not yet so experienced or "natural" at diving, and I hope to get my youngest (now 12) into diving when she decides it is cool. So for all of those reasons I decided it would be good to do the rescue course, and took a 3 day weekend trip devoted to it. I missed the chance to do underwater sightseeing, and the course violated my sense of laziness, but I was very satisfied to have done it. Maybe it wasn't fun in the same way as flying down a slope on skiis, or spotting an unusual and colorful sea critter, but I was very glad to have done it.

Of course I hope to never have to carry out a rescue! But part of the training involves recognizing potential problems, and heading them off before they become actual ones. And I'm also more likely to be in a situation of offering help to a divemaster (which might simply involve getting myself and others out of the way) rather than taking charge myself. But I still like the idea that I have at least a tiny clue as to what to do if things go south.

 

[RonFrank]

The rescue class is the first class one takes where the diver is trained to focus on diving from a perspective outside of their individual situation. Sure OW, and AOW both focus on buddy skills, but as an OW student one is basically useless as a buddy in all but the least stressful situations.

Rescue is not really a diving class as much as a class focused on.... well... rescue! It is more about focusing and reading the actions and intent of the other diver vs. a class about how to improve one's diving skills. Because of this having good skills going into the class is important.

Rescue will teach one about situations that put both a panicked diver, and the individual involved in a rescue situation at risk. It teaches one skills to deal with a diver in distress, as well as some basic medical training on how to treat injured divers.

As others have indicated, this is a must do class, and a lot of fun as well as a challenge. It will increase diver awareness of those around them, and can save a life. IMO once a diver is comfortable in the water and with general diving skills, this is the logical progression to follow.

Good Luck, and have fun.

 

[Crowley]

Yeah - I have to say if a person didn't have fun on their rescue course then maybe their instructor was having an "off day"...!

The PADI rescue course is - and should be - fun. It's not designed to make you an instant coastguard recovery diver, nor is it intended to; it's for interested people who want to learn more about diving, about accident training, maybe a little bit about themselves.

Not every PADI certified Rescue diver will be able to respond in an emergency, but you could say that about any certification in any walk of life. What it gives people is some basic training, and hopefully they will learn more as they continue to dive. People who have rescue training - regardless of agency - really do save lives, just like people who have basic first aid trained have also saved lives.

Don't let the nay-sayers put you off. It's valuable training and if you get the right instructor it will be a blast!

Dive safe,

C.

 

[kathydee]

I just took Rescue. The class was interesting & much different from OW & AOW but nothing to fear ;-). You will learn lots of very helpful skills & information to keep both yourself/others out of danger and/or assist if others do encounter danger.

As with any class, I am sure the experience varies greatly with instructor. If possible, try to find an instructor who has acutally participate in a serious rescue.

 

[Biodiversity_guy]

I just finished the rescue diver class a couple of weeks ago.

It was well worth my time.

My only advice is NOT do it directly after OW and AOW. Get to know your gear and comfort in the water, get some dives under your belt, otherwise you can not really focus on helping others or learning the open water lessons as well. For best learning results you should know your own gear well and be very comfortable with it.

 

[Soggy_Diver]

I did the rescue course this past fall, and it was great. I have often found myself diving with just me and my buddy at a lake, or boat diving with insta-buddies with various levels of skills, so it was really worthwhile to learn this stuff. After diving for a few years (or sooner), you will see people who need rescue, or at least some assistance, and an instructor or DM will not always be right there.

In terms of difficulty, the comparison for me was Red Cross lifesaving courses. Physically, I found that the two kinds of courses were similar, but scuba rescue was easier because you have more aids in the form of your fins, BC, etcetera. In both kinds of courses, you learn techniques that help you manage victims who are bigger than you are.

Procedurally, I found that scuba rescue was complicated. I did rescue and first aid at the same time--it would have been better to do the first aid first to spread out the material more. It was really worthwhile to keep up with the reading and knowledge reviews, and reread the material regularly.

The things that made this fun were, taking the course with a good group of people, and the instructor's "creative" ways of stretching our skills. I won't spoil the surprise

 

[Sub-Mariner]

I'm interested in taking the rescue class this summer but not where I live. Although I reside in NY I have no intention of diving there. The Ideal situation would be for me to take the lifesaving course locally then go to a Florida location to do the course. would anyone have any suggestions or if this is even an option.
Thanks

 

[SubMariner]

I'm interested in taking the rescue class this summer but not where I live. Although I reside in NY I have no intention of diving there. The Ideal situation would be for me to take the lifesaving course locally then go to a Florida location to do the course. would anyone have any suggestions or if this is even an option.
Thanks

What is your current cert level? Have you been diving locally? Actually taking the RD course locally would really make you a great Rescue Diver! :thumbs-up

Nice handle, BTW