A question for newly qualified divers...........

[turnerjd]

Having been around here for a couple of months, I have started to notice that there are a lot of newly qualified divers and some not so newly qualified divers bursting with questions, a lot of which, the answers I consider should have been in a suitable 'entry level' qualification.

I have a simple question for you, do you think that you learned enough?

If the answere is no, if you were to now repeat the learning process would you repeat what you did, or if there was a suitable alternative, offering more comprehensive training, would you do that?

Jon T

 

[scubanole]

I did my cert. in Aug. 2000 with SSI. I went Tue., Wed., and Thur. for two weeks. The first Tue and the last Thur. we were in the class the rest of the time we were in the pool. We did our dives on Sat and Sun following the second week. We did two dives at Cypress Springs on Sat. and Two boat dives out of PC on Sun. Do I think I learned enough? That is a good question. Yes I think I learned enough(100% on my cert. exam), but I also know that I have a lot left to learn. I also have a wife and two kids so I am extra careful about my diving and don't take chances(I want to see them grow up). I have only gotten the chance to dive one day since my cert. and I'm looking forward to getting wet again. I don't know that I will ever do it, but I would love to go through the IDC and become an instructor

 

[Swamp Rat]

I learned enough to be dangerous. Well actually remembering back from before I took the class and diving and after taking the classes and diving. I would say I learned a lot. But there is so much more I wish I would have learned. Navigation is a major one. I dive in mirky water and vis is never more than around 8 feet. Most of the time its 3 feet. And I must say swimming in a straight line is a heck of a lot harder than I thought using a compass.
The other thing I wish they would have teached is more warning signs to Danger. I think I will start a post on that one and see what people say.

 

[JoelW]

I consider myself a newbie with a twist. I did an OW with PADI in 1985 and did not do much with it after that. Last year I decided to take up the hobby again and redid the OW and have done the AOW as well. I have also added Medic/1st Aid, O2, diving dry and Ice to that.

I really think that the question of whether the OW taught enough is interesting in that it depends on what the student expected to get out of the class and what the student expects to do after the class. If all I was expecting to do is go to warm water once a year and follow the leader, I would say that yes, it taught me enough to do that. Unfortunately for my bank account, I live in the land of 10,000 cold, dark lakes and I like diving in them. Did I learn enough to do that in all situations? Not in the least. I didn't expect to learn that from the basic class either. I have a few friends here that I go out with and I learn from them while doing it. I also have plans for a few more classes to take, including rescue and a low viz/no viz course being taught by one of the instructors here.

But, I understand that it is my responsibility to protect myself when I put on a tank and aim for the bottom. If I feel that I need more training it is up to me to find out where to get that training. More importantly, it is up to me to know what my limits are and to abide by them. For example, I am planning my first boat dive in a few weeks on a boat at Catalina Island. I can blindly head out and hope for the best, but that would be ignoring the potential limits. So, I have talked to the operator, other divers and researched what I need to know. I now feel like the limits have expanded a bit.

In the end, do I think that I learned enough in the OW? I learned enough to keep learning what I need to learn.

JoelW

 

[detroit diver]

My son and I just passed the pool/classroom sessions on the way to the OW test in April (it's cold here in Michigan). But your question begged the follow-up question-what is enough?

We went through the "executive course" due to scheduling conflicts with the regular Tues/Thurs classes. At the end of the 4 days, I certainly wasn't ready to cave dive!!! Our instructor is, in a word, fantastic. He's met us at the pool every other week since January (when we "finished" the class) and makes sure that we work on the stuff that is so difficult to master w/ only 4 class sessions, ie weighting and buoyancy. We certainly will not be pros, but I feel we've got a great jump even those who did the "full" class.

He also had exposed us to many of the different pieces of equipment available. Full face masks (I'm going to get one someday!!), underwater music, DIR rigging (which we just purchased), photography, and a multitude of other exciting stuff that most instructors don't even start to touch. We even learned how to breath thru the tank valve with the first stage removed! I don't know when we'd ever use it, but just more knowledge that we've been instilled with.

Will this make us better divers in open water? Can't say for sure, but I'm sure glad we've had the instructor that we do, and plan on continuing our scuba education with him. Cold water diving, ice diving, argon, nitrox, etc, etc. etc.

I dont know if this answered your question...

Jack

 

[zman]

I think I have, but I don't attribute all of it to my classes. My cert was 4 nights of theory for 4 hours per night. 4 confined open water classes each about 21/2 hrs long. 4 open water dives, first 2 to max 25', next day 2 dives to 60'max. Since then I have done my advanced, nitrox, rescue, cpr first aid,cavern and intro to cave, and am working on my trimix 1. I was certified in 1999.I have 206 logged dives 75 over 100 ft. Have I learned enough, I don't think you can ever stop learning. Am I addicted, guess. I am fortunate to have a mentor who is among the best. He has taken me places that most people will never get to ( in respect to knowledge ) You never can learn enough.

zman

 

[Warhammer]

I think that when I reach the point to where I am no longer learning anything or think that I know everything I need to about diving, it will be time to give the sport up. I learn something new and try to improve my skill as a diver on every dive. I will also continue on up the ladder of certification levels as far as I can go. Not because I want the c-cards, nor because I want to teach, and not even because I have an interest in that type diving (cave course for instance), but because I want to learn more and more about a sport that I truely love to participate in and because I want to be the best and safest diver that I possibly can. The only thing that I'd change thus far is too have started that path many years earlier. I'll also most likely pursue training from agencies other than PADI, whom my training has been through thus far, and from several different instructors. Not because I think that PADI is a bad agency, cause I don't, but because other agencies teach it different.

 

[large_diver]

One idea that I think would be very useful would be to structure OW classes so that there would be a follow-up session with the original instructor after about 10-20 dives. In class and during your first several dives, you really don't know what you don't know. Once you've been diving for about 20 dives, you start to realize the things you don't know and become exposed to a wider variety of divers (different expereriences, different gear configurations, different ways of handling different situations). By offering a mandatory follow up class, students would have the opportunity to go back and ask questions (in an environment where "stupid" questions are encouraged). For some people, this may happen automatically, since they may have ongoing interaction with their instructor at their local dive shop. I used my AOW class in this fashion - since I took it fairly soon after my basic course, it was a good forum for expanding the things I learned in my basic course.

Other things I wished I had learned in basic OW:
- Intro to diving web resources -- there is a lot of useful information out there. I didn't discover many of the popular scuba web sites until I had been diving for a few months. This would include the pros and cons of using these resources.
- More discussion of gear configurations -- specifically at least some mention of DIR (although this would go against the teachings of most cert agencies, I think it would be useful to at least discuss DIR since it is becoming more widespread)

 

[turnerjd]

Large Diver,

You have very much hit the nail on the head. A lot of people don't know what it is they don't know, and need time to develop skills such as analysing their setup, and working out what is suitable for them.

I have been pondering for some not small time about this, and am not sure if the answere lies in a more detailed open water course taken more slowly, or if it lies in (mandatory?) follow-up sessions, possibly with some taught element, where students can get a chance to discuss what they have done, noticed etc..

There is significant scope in the latter for making divers do a certain number of accompanied dives (eg rescue diver or above with them -someone qualified to rescue them at a minimum), and then having a final signing-off session with an instructor. This would then tie in very nicely with my thoughts on first aid, and rescue skills. Why not make them spend 2 hours every couple of years to re-validate their O2, firstaid, and rescue skills, as dictated by their experience level? This kind of review if done properly should be able to be none for a minimal cost, as there would only need to be a brief exam, a logbook stamp, and card sticker (and possibly 30mins in a pool to show rescue skills)?

Diver education is a lifelong process, why not make it formally so?

Jon T

 

[detroit diver]

I agree with the idea of recertification if the costs were kept at a reasonable level. It would ensure that those people you rely on to do rescue are up to the task. If we recertify for driving, flying, and other endeavors, it makes sense to do the same for scuba.