Why doesn't Rescue Diver expire?

[rhwestfall]

I also know of at least 2 other dive instructors that will let you audit any of their rescue classes once you are Rescue certified.

Yep! My instructor for my Nitrox class as well as my Rescue Class said we can sit in on any classroom session that these are being taught. Obviously we have the materials, and should they change, the cost would be on us to purchase. A great approach to keeping "brain fresh".

 

[LowVizWiz]

Rescue doesn't expire because it's not a professional rating and you don't have to pay yearly to maintain the rating.

I hate that I am stickler for accuracy, but you pay (and carry insurance in the US) to retain your teaching status not your rating. If you don't pay you're still an instructor or a divemaster you just can't or shouldn't teach or assist teaching.

Regardless, rescue is like any other certification in that if you don't practice your skills they will not be of use to you when you need them it doesn't matter if it's a pro rating or not. The onus is on you the diver to keep your skills sharp.

I agree that maybe people should have to demonstrate their skills to dive after not using their skills for an extended period of time, but it's already hard enough to get people to do scuba review classes voluntarily, how much more difficult would it be to enforce it?

For example, most dive charter releases rely on the diver filling out when their last dive was, no proof is necessary. So maybe you need to ask for proof. What would consist of proof? A logged dive signed by who? A dive computer log? What if you don't have a dive computer? What if you rent your gear? What if after being out of the water for five years I just go down to the beach and do a dive on Saturday and show up for a charter dive on Sunday with my beach dive as proof?

 

[rhwestfall]

..... but it's already hard enough to get people to do scuba review classes voluntarily....

Lets not just blame the diver.....Heck, I once spent a year trying to get a LDS to offer a refresher. They never would... I ended up saying "screw it", and went diving..... Chose a nice easy dive location, and the wife and I spent an hour blowing bubbles. It all came back quite easily.

 

[DeepSeaDan]

Once you have taken a CPR class you should know how to do a proper chest compression and how to do rescue breaths.

If your need is to keep current with CPR standards all you have to do is be able to read. The AHA and ILCOR publish their most current guidelines for CPR. 2010 AHA Guidelines for CPR & ECC

I must disagree. I have people returning annually for CPR/1st Aid re-certification, and year after year most show the same inability to do the skills correctly. It's not really their fault, simply because the skills I teach them are ( likely ) never used, or perhaps even thought about again until they show up in my class the following year. I refuse to use the term "re-certification" - it is always a "re-teach."

Are rescue diving skills & knowledge any different? I would say yes, to a certain degree. If your an active diver, your general diving skills should be sharp, and chances are you might think of the skills &/or knowledge you learned as you continue to dive & be engaged in the diving community ( eg.: reading the Accidents / Incidents forum on this board ). Still, how many times have you used your search skills? When was the last time you re-calibrated your timed / measured distance swim? When was the last time you reviewed in your mind the steps to take if you heard an alert for a missing diver?

I've offered my LDS employer a one-day refresher program to any who are interested. I'm getting some interest from the Tek community as they'd like some experience with their kits ( I hate to tell them that I'd simply cut them out of their rigging rather than contend with stripping-off their complex systems! ).

I'd be quite pleased if folks wanted to refresh, and they'd be pleased with the refreshment should they ever find themselves in the thick of things...

Regards,
DSD

 

[LowVizWiz]

I must disagree. I have people returning annually for CPR/1st Aid re-certification, and year after year most show the same inability to do the skills correctly. It's not really their fault, simply because the skills I teach them are ( likely ) never used, or perhaps even thought about again until they show up in my class the following year. I refuse to use the term "re-certification" - it is always a "re-teach."

Are rescue diving skills & knowledge any different? I would say yes, to a certain degree. If your an active diver, your general diving skills should be sharp, and chances are you might think of the skills &/or knowledge you learned as you continue to dive & be engaged in the diving community ( eg.: reading the Accidents / Incidents forum on this board ). Still, how many times have you used your search skills? When was the last time you re-calibrated your timed / measured distance swim? When was the last time you reviewed in your mind the steps to take if you heard an alert for a missing diver?

I've offered my LDS employer a one-day refresher program to any who are interested. I'm getting some interest from the Tek community as they'd like some experience with their kits ( I hate to tell them that I'd simply cut them out of their rigging rather than contend with stripping-off their complex systems! ).

I'd be quite pleased if folks wanted to refresh, and they'd be pleased with the refreshment should they ever find themselves in the thick of things...

Regards,
DSD

Dan, I don't think you are disagreeing with me... I'm sure you find students coming back who show improper technique.
I said, you "should" be able to do it, they reality is a lot of people forget to lock their elbows or open the airway or insert step here; therefore some come back to re-learn. If they truly learned how the first time there wouldn't be a need to "re-teach" as you say. Just review the process from a piece of paper step by step.

As far as skills go, I guess it depends on where you dive. And not all skills are equally useful. Working the boat I'm constantly using search skills, but not necessarily all those from the the search and recovery class. I use search patterns and knots a lot more than a timed swim or arm spans. And I'll quote what my open water instructor said to me once upon a time, "If you want to really learn something try teaching it to someone else" When it comes to diving, there are things I have ingrained in my mind and I can explain them to others in multiple ways; while there are other processes that I may not remember of the top of my head, but I know how to access the information I need and I have that handy and that's the case with a missing diver alarm.

 

[TMHeimer]

Dan, I don't think you are disagreeing with me... I'm sure you find students coming back who show improper technique.
I said, you "should" be able to do it, they reality is a lot of people forget to lock their elbows or open the airway or insert step here; therefore some come back to re-learn. If they truly learned how the first time there wouldn't be a need to "re-teach" as you say. Just review the process from a piece of paper step by step.

As far as skills go, I guess it depends on where you dive. And not all skills are equally useful. Working the boat I'm constantly using search skills, but not necessarily all those from the the search and recovery class. I use search patterns and knots a lot more than a timed swim or arm spans. And I'll quote what my open water instructor said to me once upon a time, "If you want to really learn something try teaching it to someone else" When it comes to diving, there are things I have ingrained in my mind and I can explain them to others in multiple ways; while there are other processes that I may not remember of the top of my head, but I know how to access the information I need and I have that handy and that's the case with a missing diver alarm.

Agree on all accounts. It gets back to responsibility. I review a little of the manuals from all the courses I've taken daily, and in addition always a page of the EFR book. I also took lots of notes in the manuals. So, I've taken EFR twice now and CPR with another organization once. I paid $90 to get reviewed in a 3 hr. EFR class (all day with the other one, but I must admit it was much more comprehensive) and perform CPR on the dummy perfectly.

 

[Hank49]

I hate that I am stickler for accuracy, but you pay (and carry insurance in the US) to retain your teaching status not your rating. If you don't pay you're still an instructor or a divemaster you just can't or shouldn't teach or assist teaching.

That's true. My instructor rating is still valid but my teaching....status?...has expired since I haven't paid for about 8 years.